The Free School: Rethinking Archives is an interdisciplinary series comprised of five workshops exploring archival practice and its connection to public citizenship. Building on the experience of the Ai Weiwei Free School (2019), this time we explore the archival work of scholars affiliated with Ryerson University. Sessions bring attention to the value of the archives as a repository of history and measure of our past, while acknowledging limits in representation and modes of historical recording. Expanding the discussion of the archive, workshop leaders explore sources seldom considered, methods that stand outside of formal practices, voices excluded from historical record keeping, and the social and dialogical aspect of archiving and representing communities and cultures.

Co-Presented by: Ken Moffatt, Jack Layton Chair, Melanie Panitch, Executive Director, Office of Social Innovation, & Curtis Sassur, Archivist, Ryerson University Library.

Workshop 5: Rethinking the Research Archive

Description: Naomi Adelson, associate vice-president, research and innovation, discusses a thirty-year collaborative research relationship with a small Eeyou (Cree) community in northern Québec. The work has been translated into a considerable archive of primary data. The question now is: how can an accumulated qualitative research data set become an accessible, safely preserved resource for the community? Rethinking the archive today means understanding the principles of conducting research with Indigenous communities. In this workshop, Adelson explores how we think about the archive within a First Nations community and the processes that need to be undertaken in transferring, storing, and ensuring accessibility of research data to community partners and members.

About the Presenter: Naomi Adelson is the Associate Vice President, Research and Innovation at Ryerson University and Professor in the Faculty of Community Services. As a medical anthropologist she has worked with the Eeyou’ch, or Cree people, of Whapmagoostui in northern Quebec for over 30 years. Her approach to research is grounded in a critical-interpretive analytical framework which challenges and unsettles normative conceptualizations of the human body, always reflecting on the ways in which we come to know – and act upon – our sense of what it means to be human. Naomi is currently working collaboratively with the people of Whapmagoostui to transfer her research data to the community in a format appropriate to supporting their active stewardship of these recordings, transcriptions and images.

Attending the Event

Please note that this workshop will be hosted online using Zoom.

A Zoom link and password to access the Workshop will be sent via email to all persons registered. You can download Zoom on your device for free using the following link: https://zoom.us/

Accessibility

ATTENTION SCREEN-READER USERS: Some screen reader users may experience issues with Eventbrite registration. Alternatively, you can register by sending an email to socialinnovation@ryerson.ca with your name and email.

We will have CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), the live transcription of speech to text, available during the event.

The Office of Social Innovation strives to create accessible and inclusive spaces for all community members. If we require additional accommodations to ensure your participation, please email socialinnovation@ryerson.ca. We ask that any accessibility requests be made within 10 days of the scheduled event so that accommodations can be made.

Contact OSI

Have questions? Contact the Office of Social Innovation at socialinnovation@ryerson.ca or visit our website: ryerson.ca/social-innovation.

Please note registration for this event is required.