Jennifer Howard laughing

Jennifer Howard

Writer, editor, journalist.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Mastodon
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Writing
    • Journalism
    • Fiction
  • Editing
  • Contact

“When the Archive Won’t Yield Its Secrets”

December 11, 2014

Inspired by “Failure in the Archives,” a conference held at University College London, I talked to researchers and archivists about some of the frustrations and wrong turns they encounter in their work:

Humanities scholars rarely talk about their failures. Publications and promotion depend on making discoveries in the archives, not losing one’s way in them. But as researchers try to recover lives and experiences absent from the official record, they work within archival systems that weren’t set up to help them find what they’re in search of. And digital-era scholars with a world of information at their fingertips don’t always have the patience or the know-how to pick through the idiosyncratic records of the past.

Recent Writing

  • Schools of Thought Control
  • The Publishing Ecosystem in the Digital Era: On John B. Thompson’s BOOK WARS
  • A paler shade of white: HAVING AND BEING HAD by Eula Biss

Recent Posts

  • January newsletter: Making space
  • December newsletter: Routines vs. resolutions
  • November newsletter: Platform fatigue

Get my newsletter

Get updates on what I'm working on and what I'm thinking about. Sign up and spread the word. Thanks!

Subscribe

About Jen

Jen Howard sitting in front of a brick wall. She is smiling.

Writer, journalist, editor, gadabout. Book- and nature lover. Washingtonian. LLC. Read more »

Latest Posts

  • January newsletter: Making space
  • December newsletter: Routines vs. resolutions
  • November newsletter: Platform fatigue
  • October newsletter: Five little pumpkins
  • September newsletter: Two wheels good

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Mastodon
Tweets by JenHoward

Content is © Jennifer Howard or respective owners | Site by Rocketkoi