"...an article by [J.] Buxton, which is primarily a review of Suzanne Keen's
Romances of the Archive in Contemporary British Fiction, suggests that students may already be predisposed to archival research because they are familiar with works that glamourise the archivist's job. Buxton argues that Keen's study 'presents a compelling case for the fictional revitalization of the figure of the amateur scholar, and a corresponding focus on the archive as the site of romance quests that are as heroic... as those of earlier imperial adventure stories.' She notes that the novels featured in Keen's study 'unabashedly celebrate traditional scholarly methods and the researchers who engage them' and that in British fiction of the last two decades 'Edward Casaubon is reborn as Indiana Jones.' Thus, the archival assignment may build on student interest in solving problems as well as their knowledge of novels and films that feature archival detection." (304) --Carol A. Senf, (2005) "Using the University Archives to Demonstrate Real Research"
Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 12:2, 297-307.
Who knew there was and is a popular cultural trend in which the work of an archivist is
glamourized?!? I am skeptical of Senf's claims here because I am not yet certain that a majority of the public could describe what the work of an archivist
is, let alone think romantically about it. The running joke among archivists and archivists-in-training is that the the word "archivist" is often confused by the public with other words such as "activist" and "anarchist." This all of course illustrates the necessity for public outreach by archivists as well as their involvement in high school and college research classes and projects.
*The full reference on Buxton's article mentioned above:
Buxton, J. (2003) Casaubon revamped: contemporary adventures in the archive,
Contemporary Literature, 44(2), 345-352.
