Call for Participation: Digital Design Records Survey

The Society of American Archivist’s Digital Design Records Committee invites you to complete the Digital Design Records Survey.

Last administered in 2016, the goal of the survey is an updated snapshot of the landscape of design records contained in the collections across all types of institutions and the strategies being employed by archival professionals and other practitioners managing them. Preliminary results will be reported out at the SAA Design Record Section’s annual meeting this summer.

If you have any questions, please reach out.

Thank you for your participation in this important data gathering effort,

Anna Reznik and the Digital Design Records Committee

CFP: Thinking with Things: Narrative, Culture, and Material Politics

Call for Papers: Thinking with Things: Narrative, Culture, and Material Politics (with strong interest from Routledge, New York)

Even though questions of matter and materiality have long informed humanistic thought, recent years have witnessed a renewed and intensified engagement with “materiality” across the humanities and social sciences. This resurgence responds to a range of contemporary challenges—environmental instability, planetary disruption, digital overdetermination, infrastructural fragility, and the erosion of anthropocentric exceptionalism—all of which have reshaped how we understand what it means to be human in a more-than-human world. While materialist, new materialist, and posthuman paradigms have expanded the grammar of critical discourse, much existing scholarship remains focused on conceptual elaboration, often treating literary and cultural texts as secondary illustrations of theoretical claims. Such an approach risks reinstating the familiar Cartesian divide between mind and matter, idea and experience, theory and praxis. What remains underexplored is how material thinking itself operates within narrative practices—how conceptual structures are articulated through storytelling, and how narratives are shaped, constrained, and transformed by the presence and agency of things.

As Jane Bennett suggests, materiality is never passive; it possesses “the curious ability of inanimate things to animate, to act, and to produce effects.” Taking this insight seriously, Thinking with Things: Narrative, Culture, and Material Politics seeks to reposition narrative as a site where matter is not merely represented but actively participates in the production of meaning, ethics, and power. The volume brings together contributions that explore how material entities—objects, infrastructures, ecological conditions, nonhuman agents, technological assemblages, and everyday artefacts—intervene in and generate narrative processes. Rather than approaching materiality as a neutral medium, the collection understands it as a dynamic force that mediates relations and constitutes the very conditions of meaning-making. In doing so, the project aims to move beyond human-centered epistemologies and purely representational frameworks, demonstrating how material forces reshape ontological assumptions, challenge inherited political models, and reconfigure ethical frameworks.

By foregrounding the active role of things in cultural and political life, the volume fosters a cross-disciplinary dialogue across literary studies, philosophy, cultural theory, media studies, anthropology, geography, and science and technology studies. It is particularly interested in how things, understood as “material-semiotic” agents in the sense articulated by Donna Haraway, enable new modes of conceptual and narrative practice that move beyond the dualisms of mind and matter, theory and praxis, while remaining attentive to textual specificity. The volume also seeks to examine how objects—from everyday artefacts to large-scale infrastructures—mediate temporality, responsibility, and relations of power; how narratives respond to ecological disruption and planetary instability; and how literary and cultural texts reimagine the human by tracing the co-constitution of human and nonhuman actors within complex material assemblages.

We invite contributions that engage with themes such as materiality and narrative form; objects and material culture; literature, cinema, and visual culture; affect and embodiment; ecological and planetary imaginaries; everyday life and capitalist circulation; ethics and material relations; transmedia storytelling; human/nonhuman interfaces; urban space and spatial materialities; temporality, ruin, and breakdown; archives and material traces; digital media and technological assemblages; and object-oriented ontology, among others. Submissions that combine theoretical rigor with close attention to texts, media, or cultural practices are especially welcome.

Submissions are invited from scholars who have completed the doctoral degree or are at an advanced stage of doctoral research with an established record of scholarly engagement. Abstracts of approximately 300 words, along with a brief bio (100–150 words), should be sent to thinkingthings.project@gmail.com by May 30, 2026. Accepted chapters will be expected to be in the range of 6000–8000 words; the full submission timeline will be communicated after the selection of abstracts.

This is a selective, peer-reviewed edited volume currently under development. Contributors will be chosen on the basis of originality, conceptual rigor, and relevance to the thematic concerns of the collection. The volume is co-edited by Ratul Nandi (Department of English, Siliguri College, University of North Bengal, India) and Anik Sarkar (Department of English, Uttar Banga Maheshwari College, University of North Bengal, India).

Some areas that the chapters can explore, but not limited to:

  • Things and Narrative Form
  • Things and Objects of Material Culture
  • Things and Literary Texts
  • Things and Cinema and visual culture
  • Things and Affect
  • Things, materiality and Psychoanalysis
  • Things and Ecological and Planetary imaginaries
  • Things, Objects and Everyday Life
  • Things and Capitalist Circulations 
  • Things and Questions of Ethics
  • Things and Transmedia Storytelling
  • Things and the Human / Nonhuman Interface
  • Things and Critical Theory
  • Things and Polity and definition of the Political
  • Things and Temporality
  • Things and Graphic Narratives / Comics
  • Things and Ruin, Breakdown, and Failure
  • Things and the question of Archive
  • Things and Digital Media
  • Things and in-betweenness 
  • Things and Object-Oriented Ontology

Contact Information

Editors

Ratul Nandi, PhD
Department of English
Siliguri College, University of North Bengal, India

Anik Sarkar, PhD
Department of English
Uttar Banga Maheshwari College, University of North Bengal, India

Contact Email

thinkingthings.project@gmail.com

Call for Applications: Small Grants Fund for Early Career Digital Publications

Now through Monday, May 18 at 5pm ET, the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library welcomes applications to our Small Grants Fund for Early Career Digital Publications for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The grant consists of a stipend of $1,200 to support research and development time, together with institutional research and technical support from LMEC staff through the stages of the digital publication process. Projects may be conducted by scholars working both inside and outside of the academy on all topics related to geography, maps, history, and the humanistic spatial social sciences, either individually or in a group (though the stipend amount is fixed regardless of the number of scholars involved in the project). The primary author of the publication should be an early career scholar.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions. Please submit your application by Monday 5/18 at 5pm ET.

Contact Information

Ian Spangler, Associate Curator of Digital & Participatory Geography, Leventhal Map & Education Center

https://www.leventhalmap.org/about/people/ian-spangler/

Contact Email

ispangler@leventhalmap.org

URL

https://leventhalmap.org

CFP: Edinburgh Bibliographical Seminar and Workshop: Catalogues and Registers as Evidence in the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology

The inaugural Edinburgh Bibliographical Seminar and Workshop (EBSW) seeks proposals on the theme of ‘Catalogues and Registers as Evidence in the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology’. The event will occur at the University of Edinburgh from 20 July to 24 July, 2026, the week after the joint meeting of the History of Science Society and the European Society for the History of Science.

This interdisciplinary seminar aims to investigate the significant potential of historical registers of commodities, books, and borrowing as sources for the study of the history of mathematics, science, and technology, as well as intellectual history. Beyond their practical applications, catalogues and registers of books can reveal the intellectual landscape of a particular time and place. They can show which books were available, what was considered important, and how knowledge was organised and categorised. By examining these registers, catalogues, and records, we can track the circulation of ideas across disciplines and regions. This examination can provide context for understanding the development of scientific and mathematical thought. As the Books and Borrowings, 1750-1830, project has demonstrated, careful attention to the social context of registers of borrowing can thicken our descriptions and enrich our understanding of how knowledge has been used. Linked to the vision of the great or universal library, the concept of secular universalism has long been thought to spread its legitimisation through the globalisation of modern mathematics. Building on Kant, universalist logicians and philosophers lay claim to a secular universal mode of reasoning that is common to all minds, displacing previous evangelical universalist modes such as those associated with Leibniz, and non-universal epistemes. Becoming widespread from the globalisation of curricular reforms like William Whewell’s or the Madras system, this secular universal conception demanded a way to address the accumulated knowledge and traditions of the past to clear space for its own epistemic break. That is, modern, global mathematics is a site where ideas must somehow contend with the past before secular universalism can become universal.

In a collaborative and hands-on set of workshops, EBSW participants will be invited to examine the books and registers at the University of Edinburgh that shaped the intellectual landscapes of the Enlightenment to modern eras, with a particular emphasis on the changing relationships between mathematics, natural history, and theology. Participants will pre-circulate drafts of a work in progress of around 2,000-3,000 words, which the group will discuss and refine in seminar meetings during the week. Based on these meetings, we will develop a communal sense of the methodologies for using catalogues as evidence for the histories of mathematics, science, and technology. Selected contributions will be invited for an edited conference volume addressing larger methodological questions in these areas.

Proposals should demonstrate, investigate, complicate, or challenge the use of catalogues or registers as a kind of historical evidence around a specific corpus or text. Papers will ideally benefit from the materials in the University of Edinburgh libraries, which have strong books and with catalogue evidence from the 16th century to the present day. Potential topics may include:

  • natural theology, religious history, or early modern thought and their relationship to mathematics, science, and technology or the history of ideas
  • near and far east, ancient and contemporary history or orientalizing images or practices as related to the image of modernity
  • mathematical models, specimens, and exhibits as pedagogical and research tools in and outside of libraries
  • technical, professional and literary texts: reading modes and evidence of political and social change as they relate to the formation of disciplines
  • global library history, collectors and collections, and contemporary library use
  • re-considerations of texts, truth, objectivity, and meaning during the interwar period particularly regarding mathematics, science, and technology

Adrian Johns will deliver an opening talk ‘Registers and the Dream of Universal Information: A Selective History’ which is co-sponsored by the Edinburgh Bibliographical Society.

Applications are due by 21 April, 2026, and should include a proposed title and abstract, a brief two to three sentence bio, and an indication of the applicant’s financial needs for travel. With funding from a UKRI-ERC Horizon grant, the EBSW expects to be able to support travel expenses for many of the participants.

The application form is forthcoming and will be linked at https://sigma.mathsworlds.org/activities/ebsw/ 

Contact Dr J.P. Ascher with questions at jascher@ed.ac.uk

Contact Information

Dr J. P. Ascher, UKRI-ERC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh

Contact Email

jascher@ed.ac.uk

URL

https://sigma.mathsworlds.org/activities/ebsw/

New Issue: Archives: the Journal of the British Records Association

Archives: the Journal of the British Records Association, vol. 60, no. 1 (2025)
http://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/archives/60/1
(subscription)

‘She Hath Been Mother, Physician Aunt and All to Him’: A Brief Introduction to the Loseley Archives at the Surrey History Centre
Eliza Wheaton

‘It Will be a Publick Service that this Should Be Done’: The 1704 Reform of the Tower Records Office
J.C.L. Hettrick

‘The Monuments of the Dead are not Intended to Perpetuate the Memory of Crimes, but to Exhibit Patterns of Virtue’: The Rehabilitation of an Eighteenth-Century Roué
Jane Saul

The Pilgrim Trust and English Ecclesiastical Archives, 1930-c. 1960
Richard Olney

Call for Participants – Autonomy and Decision Making in Archival Collaborations

Hello,

I am a graduate student in the Library Science Program at East Carolina University, and I am conducting a research study to explore collaborations that occur between community archives and traditional archival institutions. State, academic, and museum archives are increasingly interested in collaborating with community archives to help preserve and manage community archives’ records. There is evidence that community archives and traditional archival institutions manage, use and relate to archival records differently and these differences may affect the relationship dynamics during the collaborations.

I am inviting anyone who is a staff or volunteer of a community archive in the United States that has worked collaboratively with a state, academic, museum or other traditional archival institution to complete a brief survey asking about your experiences during the collaborative project. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

The survey will remain open until an adequate number of responses have been collected. Click here for the survey. Thank you for considering to participate in this study. Please direct any questions about the study to Sarah West (wests08@students.ecu.edu). 

Sarah West (she/her/hers)

College of Education, Department of Interdisciplinary Professionals, Library Science Program

East Carolina University

Article Discussion: Archival Literacy and Primary Source Literacy: A Collaborative Instructional Toolkit for Introductory Composition and Beyond

Join SAA-RAO Teaching with Primary Sources Subcommittee for an article discussion on the article “Archival Literacy and Primary Source Literacy: A Collaborative Instructional Toolkit for Introductory Composition and Beyond” by Kristin Leaman and Adriana Harmeyer on Monday, May 11, 2026 @ 1 PM EDT/12 PM CDT/11 AM MDT/10 AM PDT. Both authors will be joining us for the discussion, so come prepared to talk about the article with the authors! If the article is inaccessible to you, you can reach out to the email listed in the Zoom confirmation for assistance.

Register here: https://tpscollective-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/o78vK684QHCF12cmQLxfpw

CFP: Artefacts XXXI: “Trust and Objects”

With pleasure, the Science History Institute, along with the American Philosophical Society and  the Mütter Museum at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, announces that the next and 31st meeting of ARTEFACTS will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19-21 October 2026.

Today, many museums aligned with the history of science (very broadly defined) are being called upon to help build, restore, or grow “trust in science” among their audiences. As historians of science and museum professionals, the organizers share the concerns motivating such calls, yet also recognize that “trust in science” is itself an object of historical inquiry. 

Such tensions within the history of science are, of course, not new. Since museums and historians often must reconcile such tensions in public-facing projects (and recognizing that we serve many different “publics,” across and within institutions), we have the opportunity to explore how scientific objects can be mobilized to bring audiences into a more critical history of science. Objects are on one hand epistemologically and ontologically flexible; their meanings and identities come from those who study and interpret them. At the same time, for the public, objects are material, “real,” and carry an aura of authority. In the American Alliance of Museums’ Spring 2021 report on Museums and Trust, respondents identified the fact that “Museums present real/original/authentic objects” as the second-most cited measure of their trustworthiness. (For further analysis, see the essay “History Museums and Trust” from the American Association for State and Local History.)

The theme of the 2026 meeting is TRUST AND OBJECTS. We encourage proposals that explore how museums and academic institutions use material culture to build “trust in the history of science” in multiple ways. How do we use objects to negotiate the different meanings of “science” for audiences? In what ways can objects be deployed programmatically and interpretively to raise critical and generative questions about science, and its relationships to politics, culture, and economy? How can the seemingly inert nature of material culture be used to cultivate values of care, empathy, and understanding? 

In keeping with the theme, we especially encourage proposals from individuals working on or with public-facing projects using material culture. This could include museum professionals, as well as historians who study museums, public displays, or interpretation within the history of science. 

Examples might include, but are not limited to:

  • Case studies of museum exhibitions or interpretive projects that illustrate the role of museums and/or material culture in exploring trust in science
  • Discussions about how to negotiate among internal and external stakeholders in defining “science,” the goals of the history of science, or how to connect with different audiences
  • Challenges posed by interpreting material culture unfamiliar to visitors, or “unappealing” due to  its visual character or technical complexity
  • Historical perspectives on the interpretation of material culture in the history of science 
  • Discussions of objects that challenge definitions of science and define the edges of an institution’s collecting scope

Please remember that the focus of presentations should be on artefacts.

ARTEFACTS will once again offer two tracks for submissions: (1) works to be considered for publication (a pre-circulated paper and a longer presentation based on the paper) and (2) works-in-progress (shorter presentations without a paper). Abstracts for track 1 should be 500-1000 words; abstracts for track 2 should be 200-300 words. They should be accompanied by a 75-word author biography and sent to artefacts@sciencehistory.org by April 30. We aim to notify accepted participants by May 31.

Registration will open formally when the program is announced in June, but in the meantime informal queries should be directed to artefacts@sciencehistory.org.

Contact Email

artefacts@sciencehistory.org

URL https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-03/ArtefactsCallforPapers.pdf

New Issue: Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture

Volume 54, Issue 4
(open access)

Editorial

Reshaping Cultural Preservation, Digital Innovation, and Technological Advancement: PDT&C 54-4 Editorial
Bogdan Trifunović

Articles

Transforming Physical Archives into Searchable Digital Libraries with Optical Character Recognition
Sivankalai Sivankalai, Shanmugam Balachandran

3D Modelling as an Effective Way to Visualize the Archaeological Monument with the Sequential Changes: A Case Study on the Itakhola Mound Temple
Nazmul Alam Ridoy, Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan Khan

Designing Integrated Online Finding Aids: Leveraging Content Analysis and Design Thinking for Effective Site Navigation and Wireframe Development
Pitchai Arumugam, Singarayar Jayachristrayar, Rajendran Rega, Jesus Rayar

Towards AI-Assisted Preventive Conservation in Libraries: Deep Learning for the Detection of Insect and Mold Damage in Ancient Manuscripts
Irhamni Ali, Ellis Sekar Ayu

Culture Meets Design: Visualizing the Evolution of Taige Studies Through a Design Lens
Ruiying Kuang, Olena Kolosnichenko

Breaking the Silo: The Crucial Role of Leadership and Advocacy in Digital Preservation Programs
Rafiq Ahmad, Muhammad Rafiq, Muhammad Fahad Khalil, Muhammad Haris Khalil

Mapping the Preprint Landscape: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Research Dissemination (2015–2024)
A. Subaveerapandiyan

CFP: “Capturing Violence Against Women and Children in Oral History Interviews” (due April 8)

We are looking for participants for a panel for the ESSHC (European Social Science History Conference) titled “Capturing Violence Against Women and Children in Oral History Interviews”.

The conference will be held in Lyon, France, from 21–24 April 2027.

The panel addresses the methodological and ethical challenges of identifying and interpreting experiences of violence against women and children in oral history interviews, particularly in the context of the Second World War and the immediate postwar period.

The panel will feature the following speakers:

  • Marta Pawlińska (University of Warsaw, Poland), examines narratives of violence experienced by Polish forced labourers, especially young women who worked as domestic servants in German households. 
  • Jakub Gałęziowski (University of Warsaw, Poland), works with individuals who were born as a consequence of forced labour during the war or shortly after its end and who often grew up without parental care as so-called unaccompanied children. 
  • Maria Buko (University of Konstanz, Germany), collects narratives of war orphans who, for various reasons, were left without family as a result of the war. 

In each of the presented cases, different forms of violence are present, yet they are not always articulated explicitly. Rather, they often emerge indirectly and must be carefully identified within lengthy personal narratives.
This panel therefore reflects on the methodological and ethical questions involved in recognizing and interpreting such experiences of violence, as well as on responsible approaches to addressing violence both during the interview process and in subsequent analysis.

We invite scholars with corresponding interests to join this panel.
 

Submission Details

Please send:

  • a proposal for your presentation, and
  • a short academic CV

by 08 April 2026 to: ma.pawlinska@uw.edu.pl

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Marta Pawlińska, Jakub Gałęziowski, Maria Buko

Contact Email

ma.pawlinska@uw.edu.pl