Archives News – Special Collections & The Gallery

A People’s History: Surveying the Archives of the Sahrawi People

This image depicts three individuals, two wearing hijab, standing in front of a desert-style archives building.

Archives are the backbone of our collective memory, a vital thread connecting us to our past, informing our present, and shaping the future. While the perception remains of Archivists locked away in basements amongst dusty shelves and locked cabinets—and trust me, we find ourselves there often!–sometimes the work leads to unexpected projects and places. In November of 2024, Dr. Sarah Ponichtera, Assistant Dean of Special Collections & the Gallery, and Professor Joseph Huddleston of the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, headed to the Sahara Desert to conduct a survey of materials in multiple repositories cared for by the Sahrawi people—a partially recognized state governed by the Polisario Front since 1976. These materials were created by these people, for these people—documenting their history, colonization, and struggle for liberation and independence.

Two ancient musical instruments sit in a museum display case.

The start of this project began with a simple inquiry from Professor Huddleston in regards to digitization of materials. Huddleston explained the challenges of conducting research in the Sahrawi refugee camps, where he had studied the foreign policy of the Polisario government in exile. Huddleston worked with the Sahrawi people and foreign ministry for many years, and the last time he was there he was granted access to a repository of rare materials but found the information to be in a vulnerable state. The materials are located in a very remote area that is extremely challenging to get to, where there is limited access to the internet and sometimes even electricity. Since the Sahrawi government is not technically part of Algeria, they are not afforded the same resources or services as the rest of the country. Recognizing how important these archives are to not only Huddleston’s research, but to researchers across the world, he sought to digitize the materials himself on his next trip so that he can make this information widely available.

Collaboration between faculty and the archives in a university is common, but for the most part, it is a simple request and exchange of information within the confines of the archives or email. They work within the same spheres, but rarely within the same level of activity. Here there is a unique collaboration between these spheres to conduct a field analysis together—Dr. Ponichtera can bring advice and insight into archival practices of caring for physical materials and process and procedures for digitization, where Huddleston can emphasize how these applications will help to preserve the collective history of these people for generations to come. The goal of this trip was to conduct a survey of materials– what materials are there, how many boxes and containers, getting a better sense of what types of materials there are, what equipment will be needed, and how many people will be needed in order to digitize the collection in a future phase.

Shelves hold a variety of obsolete audio video formats, from audio tape to cassettes to VHS recordings.

Upon arrival, Huddleston and Ponichtera faced a variety of challenges, but also triumphs. First off there were far more collections than previously thought—5 different repositories under 5 different ministries, each with their own levels of care. The archives of the ministry of information, for instance, started as the archive of the local radio and television station that had been documenting the Sahrawi struggle since the 1970s. This poses issues because of so many different formats, different kinds of magnetic tape, and the overall evolution of media that will require specialists to repair and digitize it. There is also the fact that an active conflict is going on in the Western Sahara and sensitive information is sometimes found mixed in with materials meant for public access. And then there is the matter of properly storing the materials themselves. While an NGO from Austria came and built a state-of-the-art archival building that is secure, contains collection storage shelving, and has temperature/humidity control, there is a strong need for folders, boxes, and new types of archival housings for fragile materials such as photographs for which the technology has radically improved within the last decade.

Mural depicting leaders of the Sahrawi struggle.

But what Ponichtera and Huddleston want to stress is the tenacity, kindness, and dedication of the Sahrawi people themselves. There is currently a team of 7 professionals who maintain this archive and want to make it accessible to everyone. They have developed their own organizational structure of the materials which fit their specific preservation needs. These materials are not neglected—far from it—it is a just a matter of the lack of resources they currently have which is a sentiment archives from around the world can relate to. What they have been able to preserve in both volume and diversity of materials, is as remarkable as it is inspiring. During their time living within the camp with Sahrawi families, Ponichtera noted how community-minded this community is—anywhere you go you are welcome with open arms, a place to stay, and a warm meal. The creative and independent spirit developed by living in a hostile climate like the Sahara sets the future of this project in good stead. Now that the survey has been conducted, the Sahrawi archivists are creating updated descriptions to enable future researcher access. When this is complete the planning for the full digitization project will begin.

This project is more than just preserving some materials—it is a living repository, a chance for the Sahrawis to tell their OWN stories and experiences, a way for researchers to perhaps change and enrich their understanding of the world. Isn’t that what history is all about?

100 Years of The Setonian

The Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University celebrates the 100^th anniversary of The Setonian, the official undergraduate student newspaper founded in 1924. For more than a centennial the paper has been the the voice of the University community, delivering coverage from all angles of campus. From reporting on the frontlines of student-led protests to dissecting the latest fashion trends, The Setonian has remained steadfast in its reporting. The paper also serves as a training ground for journalists and reporters while upholding the First Amendment. The exhibition explores the beginning of the newspaper, envisioned by student John Erigena Robinson in a diary entry dated 1873 through the present day with stories of the paper’s hiatus during COVID-19, its subsequent return online, and then, in print. The exhibit pairs news articles with objects from the gallery and archival collections in themed sections that borrow from the format of a traditional print paper.

The exhibition celebrates the dedicated students that worked at the newspaper over the past century while diving into key themes and stories in the history of the paper, student life and the University. Sections include Greek Life, Sports, ROTC, and Editorials. The exhibition was made possible through the work of many people on campus, – especially the staff and advisors of The Setonian, but also the student researchers and fellows, interns, archivists and gallery staff that each had a role in documenting, preserving, transcribing, researching and displaying the wealth of materials on view.

Celebrate the exhibit and this 100 year milestone with us on October 24th, from 4-6pm in Walsh Gallery. There will be refreshments and an opportunity to gather with current and former Setonian staff. We hope to see you there!

In addition, we’re happy to share with you that much of the historic run of the Setonian is now available digitally! Starting last semester, the archives began to digitize early additions of The Setonian that are currently only available to view via microfilm. In digitizing these files, they will be able to be accessed by not only Seton Hall students and faculty, but the general public as well. You will be able to follow the progress of the project here, as new digital editions will be linked here as they are published. They will also be available through the archives regular research portals Archivesspace and Preservica.

UPDATE: The first 30 years have been digitized! You can access them via Archivesspace here.

Undergraduate History Internship Opportunity: Fall 2024

Student Opportunity: Seton Hall Archives & Special Collections Internship

Level: Undergraduate (Two positions available)

Mentor: Quinn Christie, Public Services Archivist

Project:

The student with an interest in archives will learn modern archival best practices, including physical rehousing, metadata description, and digitization.

The student will work under the Public Services Archivist on various tasks which may potentially include:

· Applying arrangement and rehousing best practices

· Working with a variety of format types and applying skills based on need of item

· Describing collections in ArchivesSpace and applying controlled vocabulary

· Flagging items in poor condition and creating unique housings for certain materials

· Digitizing materials for use in a digital exhibit

Learning Outcomes:

The student will learn:

· The benefits of item rehousing and recognizing common agents of decay

· To act on appraisal decisions and ethically dispose of archival materials

· To apply best practices for storing, describing, and digitizing materials

· About principles of digital curation and the production of digital exhibits

· About theory related to archival arrangement and description

Daily Work Schedule: flexible during 9-5, M-F schedule

To apply: Please send a resume and brief cover letter addressing your interest in the position to quinn.christie@shu.edu.

Please note: Registration in HIST 4710 is required for this internship. Contact Sara Fieldston to register for this course. Email: sara.fieldston@shu.edu

3D Printing the Past

A black Speedball black press, a gray inking plate, and a Speedball brayer.

Working in the Archives and Special Collections Center, we showcase historically significant print materials to visiting classes who have made these visits part of their curriculum. Implementing a printing demonstration and an opportunity for students and faculty to get involved with the printing process itself will bring a new form of learning into the space and a new way to engage and appreciate the items before them. A Faculty Innovation, or FIG grant, now makes this possible.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of attending Rare Book School out of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, which proved to be part of my inspiration for this project. Just this past summer I saw a working reproduction of an eighteenth-century press which is typically given the name of Franklin Printing Press since it is believed that Benjamin Franklin used something similar. I saw the metal moveable type that was laid out, how the ink was applied, how the paper was arranged, and the strength needed to press the paper onto the moveable type. The entire process made me wish I could requisition a press to be built, procure trays of moveable type, have ink balls, quality paper, and ink.

But that would require thousands of dollars, so the question became how can I do this without spending that amount of money? How can I make it portable? And how can I share the results with others?

My project was born. I decided to take one the earliest typefaces to bring back to life by using emerging technology of the 21st century. This project utilizes Photoshop and Illustrator from Adobe Creative Campus in connection with Fusion360 and a Dremel 3D40 printer which uses PLA filament. Additionally, this project uses a Speedball Block Press and brayer along with an inking plate. I will be using the Archives and Special Collections blog to share updates, tips and tricks, successes and failures so that the process can be expanded and even improved upon by others interested in creating a similar project.

While this project is aimed at becoming an interactive component to class visits in the Archives and Special Collections Center for faculty and students, I also get to practice and refine my skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, and 3D modeling while learning about the 3D printing process. And ultimately, I get to take my first steps in faculty scholarship and in crafting a unique learning experience for the community.

As part of this grant, I have been asked how this project can be implemented within the curriculum. Metal moveable type and the printing press, even the digital aspects of this project, relate to many different subject areas as I will outline below but can apply to much more.

Typography and Graphic Design
Since typography is focused on learning about letterforms and words as design elements as well as the historical roots which goes back to Gutenberg this project would be an addition to these learning objectives. As would it be to graphic design where students are focused on creative, conceptual, and practical aspects of graphic design and advertising.

Book History (History of Books)
This project will allow exploration into the process of how books were made focusing on the materiality of the book. It will allow further conversations into materials and even marks of book use and ownership.

Ethics
Much like we have plagiarism policies in place today to discourage the stealing and appropriation of someone else’s work as your own, a similar issue was around during the time of the printing press. Printers would merely obtain a copy of a work that is selling well and print it for themselves.

Education
The printing press led to an increase in books and printed items. Those who wanted books no longer had to rely on scriptoriums to hand-copy books and could now obtain them more easily. With a new influx of books being produced at a rapid pace, educational standards improved. More people learned to read and write while laws were created to ensure people received an education.

Ideology
Did you know Hitler banned Fraktur in a 1941 statement? According to the document the font was believed to have Jewish ties and was therefore banned. While this document was most certainly typed on a typewriter, the idea is the same. The printing press allowed people to share their thoughts more freely and spread their ideologies faster.

3D Technology
This project would not be possible without the use of 3D technology of the 21st century. There are many different applications in which 3D technology can be utilized, not just to replicate typefaces to explore printing press and history but to scan and have objects available for viewing digitally. Furthermore, it allows the development of digital skills in a digital realm where there seems to be very few limitations.

Communications
The printing press revolutionized mass communication. Where the world once relied upon oral traditions and the slow pace of a scriptorium, there was now the printing press which could print multiple pages at a time.

These are just a few examples of how this project can be used to start discussions in different subject areas that are part of the curriculum. And when fully developed and operational, the project in connection with displays of items from the archives and special collections that used a similar process when they were initially created will allow visitors to fully appreciate them.

In an increasingly digital world, materiality still has a foothold that can not be replicated. We can read, we can watch videos, but nothing compares to a live demonstration and exploration into the physical process that sparks conversation beyond our primary impressions.

Stay tuned for the next blog update as the project gets underway!

Time Machines: Meet the Researchers!

The Time Machines project, which supports undergraduate research in Special Collections, is off to a great start. The sheer diversity of the projects—podcasts, a map of climate change in the Arctic, even a cookbook —showcase just how diverse primary source-based research can be. Read on to learn more about our student researchers, their proposals, and how their projects are going thus far.

Pegi Bracaj

Object of Choice: The Miriam Rooney Papers

Pegi Bracaj is a political science student with aspirations for a career in law upon graduation. She was drawn to the papers of Miriam Rooney, the founding dean of Seton Hall Law School and the first female dean of a law school in the United States. Pegi decided to expand upon the primary source material by creating a multi-episode podcast series. The first episode will be dedicated to Rooney’s life as based on the archival findings. In later episodes, she plans to “contextualize Miriam Rooney’s accomplishments in the context of the broader legal history, showcasing her influence on subsequent generations of female lawyers”. Through interviews with current female lawyers at Seton Hall Law School, Pegi seeks to connect Miriam Rooney’s life to the ongoing discussion and challenges faced by women in the legal sphere today.

Ashley Skladany

Object of Choice: Collection of 1967 Newark Rebellion Newsclippings

Ashley focused her project on the 1967 Newark Riots and its impact on the campus through two mediums-an academic paper and a podcast. As a technical producer of the Global Current, the official international affairs podcast of SHU’s School of Diplomacy, Ashley will utilize her skills to record and edit a podcast that interviews individuals who attended the university at the time or who were impacted.

Eman Fatima

Object of Choice: Coin from the Mughal Dynasty ; Coin, ¼ Anna

Eman Fatima spent the first sixteen years of her life in Pakistan and describes her interest in history and decolonization stemming from a lack of substantial education on British colonialism (particularly in South Asian countries) in schools’ curriculum. In wanting to explore how colonialism has molded and continues to mold the identity, culture, and daily life in South Asian society, Eman intends to write an academic paper comparing two coins: one from the Mughal Dynasty, and the other from the 17th century amid British rule over India and Pakistan.

Collin Doyle

Object of Choice: Journal of Roy Fitzsimmons, 1937-1938*

Collin came to the Archives upon hearing that the Archives had recently acquired the journal of Roy Fitzsimmons (SHU class of 1937), a physicist and polar explorer who took said journal on the MacGregor Arctic Expedition from July 1, 1937 – October 4, 1938. The goals of the expedition were to conduct a magnetic survey, collect weather data, photograph the aurora borealis and study its effects upon radio transmission, and to explore the area northwest of Ellesmere Island. Collin intends to create a data visualization project incorporating computer algebra systems such as Mathematica to generate 3D maps, as well as contour plots, of the arctic landscapes explored by Roy Fitzsimmons in the late 1930s, with the goal of highlighting the effects of climate change over the last century. Through this medium, Collin seeks to “breathe life into the journal’s observations” while providing commentary on the urgency of climate change and the threat it poses to our society and planet as a whole.

*Journal is not currently available online but is available to view at the Archives by appointment.

Hope Mahakian

Object of Choice: WWII Ration Books, 1943

Hope, a History major, has always been interested in the effects of WWII on the American home front. When researching possible items for this project she came across the WWII ration books but was not initially interested in pursuing them. However, after a trip to the Archives and viewing the object for herself, research questions began to emerge–”Who is or was the person that owned them? What were they used for? What do the different stamps mean? Why were some used more than others?” After discovering that all the ration books were owned by women, who were most likely in the same family, Hope decided to take a more personal approach to this project by creating her own cookbook based on the recipes that were created or became more popular due to rationing. In addition, she intends to also create a short video in the style of a 1940s infomercial, complete with filters and wardrobe choices to create the proper aesthetic, where herself and fellow actors cook the recipes themselves. Through both of these mediums Hope intends to convey what rationing looked like and how it differed across different types of families.

Austin DelSontro

Object of Choice: Setonian Newspapers, 1924-2019

Inspired by the 100th anniversary of The Setonian, Seton Hall’s student run newspaper, Austin approached this project wanting to explore not only how campus life has changed over the course of 100 years, but what has remained the same. Further, Austin’s research will focus on the evolution of writers, the topics covered over the years, and the response to significant cultural/political events over the past 100 years. While Austin’s primary project will be an academic paper, he also intends to supplement a digital component, such as a website or a blog, and use images to illustrate key differences. Austin is also exploring the possibility of creating his own personalized newspaper, inspired by The Setonian itself, to provide a comprehensive overview of his research findings.

Final projects will be shared with the community in April 2024. Stay tuned for more updates—we cannot wait to see how they will turn out!

Undergraduate History Internship Opportunity

Come work with us! We have an exciting for-credit internship opportunity for two undergraduate students in Spring 2024.

Seton Hall Photographs Collection Internship

Level: Undergraduate (Two positions available)
Mentor: Quinn Christie, Public Services Archivist

Project: The student with an interest in archives will learn archival best practices around handling photo collections, including physical rehousing, metadata description, and digitization. The student will work under the Public Services Archivist on the specified tasks:

Apply arrangement and rehousing best practices
Work with a variety of format types and apply skills based on need of item
Describe collection in ArchivesSpace and apply controlled vocabulary
Flag items in poor condition and create unique housings for certain materials
Digitize a selection of photographs for use in a digital exhibit

Learning Outcomes: The student will learn:

The benefits of item rehousing and recognizing common agents of decay
To act on appraisal decisions and ethically dispose of archival materials
To apply best practices for storing, describing, and digitizing materials
About principles of digital curation and the production of digital exhibits
About theory related to archival arrangement and description

Daily Work Schedule: Flexible during 9-5, M-F schedule. 7-8 hours per week.

To apply: Please send a resume and brief cover letter addressing your interest in the position to quinn.christie@shu.edu

Please note: Registration in HIST 4710 is required for this internship. Contact Sara Fieldston to register for this course. Email: sara.fieldston@shu.edu

Learning Opportunities in Archives and Special Collections

image of students viewing artifact — Students in Dr. Laura Wangerin’s “VIKINGS!” class discuss a replica of the Gundestrup Cauldron from the university’s collections

The Archives & Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with faculty on crafting enriching educational experiences for their students. Class visits to the archives often spark a sense of awe and curiosity, which encourages students to participate in active learning activities, engage in inspired conversations, and connect the past to the present.

Primary sources, which comprise the bulk of our archives, rare books, and gallery collections, are powerful instruction tools. All students benefit from learning how to find, analyze, interrogate, and reference primary sources. Past class visits have included a range of disciplines, including Viking and Early Latin American history, typography, Catholic studies, and women’s studies. If you’re not sure our collections will have materials related to your subject area, try us! We love finding gems from the collections to support your research and instruction needs.

We welcome our faculty to contact our Public Services Archivist, Quinn Christie, to talk about how we can work together. Email quinn.christie@shu.edu, find her on Teams, or call (973)275-2033.

Irish Immigrant Solidarity in New Jersey, 1870-Present: New Archival Collections

The Monsignor Noe Field Archives and Special Collections Center is pleased to announce the addition of six new archival collections related to the Irish-American experience. Thanks to a generous grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, we were able to process the following collections that are now available to researchers:

In addition to processing these collections, we have digitized roughly 1,200 files, at just over 9GB of data, primarily from the John Concannon and James Comerford collections.

Irish-American Experience in the 20th Century: Collection Highlights

The correspondence, research files, publications, photographs, and audio-visual materials in these collections provide an inside look at how Irish-American fraternal organizations worked together and separately to wield influence and political pressure on issues of importance to their communities — primarily immigration reform and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. These documents demonstrate how many of these organizations, notably the Ancient Order of Hibernians, maintained close ties with local political and religious leaders in New York and New Jersey.

For the first half of the 20th century, in the absence of larger governmental programs, membership organizations collected dues and shared out their funds to members in need of assistance. The AOH New Jersey and Knights of Columbus collections include ledgers and membership registers that record in granular detail how these organizations provided health insurance and sick benefits to their members.

In addition to serving as advocacy groups, Irish-American organizations provided a sense of community and maintained a full calendar of social events. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade is widely documented in the John Concannon collection, as members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians helmed its operation for many decades. The collection includes internal documents, lines of march, invitations, correspondence, and hundreds of photographs.

Digital Exhibits

For an overview of these collections, we invite you to explore two digital exhibits:

Irish-American Organizations: The Power of Connection
Exploring the relationship between Irish-American organizations and political advocacy
James Comerford
Irish-American advocate and New York City judge

Irish Immigrant Mutual Aid Societies in New Jersey

Recently, the Archives received a grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission to organize and describe a large collection of records from Irish immigrant cultural organizations, primarily the Ancient Order of the Hibernians.

These records show how immigrants to the United States organized themselves to help one another. These mutual aid organizations provided an early form of insurance – members would pay a little every month, and if they were injured or got sick or a breadwinner in their family died, the society would pay them a benefit in order to provide financial security. These organizations played a crucial role in supporting working class people before the New Deal provided unemployment insurance on a national scale.

As their original role of financial support receded, these organizations shifted their focus toward celebrating culture and community. The Ancient Order of the Hibernians played a prominent role in organizing the famous St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York.

St. Patricks' Day parade program, printed on green paper — St. Patrick’s Day parade program, 1963

The John Concannon papers, which project archivist Quinn Christie is processing, also contain planning documents for the parade, invitations to local dignitaries to attend and play roles in the celebration, tickets, musical lineups, and much more. As Christie says, “This collection is full of surprises. I never know what I’m going to find when we open a box. In the papers of Concannon, we found the records of James Comerford, who served as President of the AOH and Chairman of the Parade. In addition to papers from his organizational roles, we found his membership card in the Irish Volunteers (predecessors to the IRA) from 1918.”

The collection will be available to researchers by the end of 2022.

Maria Gillan Speaks at Seton Hall

photo of Maria Mazziotti Gillan — Maria Mazziotti Gillan

Maria Gillan is a poet who writes about her experience as an Italian-American woman, navigating between the Italian language and culture of her youth and the English language of her adult self. She writes with great attention to detail, in poems such as “Public School No. 18, Paterson, New Jersey,” where she speaks about the alienation she felt in an English language school as a native speaker of Italian. But she also speaks to universal themes, such as her sadness about the growing distance between herself and her son as her son grows up and starts a family of his own in “What I Can’t Face About Someone I Love.” Her work has been translated into Italian, and she now leads workshops in creative writing based in Italy, in addition to branching out into art as well as poetry, with works such as Redhead with Flying Fish and Cat. In addition, she maintains an active blog and website documenting her work.

Maria Gillan's painting of a redhead with flying fish — Redhead with flying fish and cat

Gillan will be speaking at Seton Hall, in the Theater in the Round on the evening of September 24 at 6pm. Her translator, Professor Carla Francellini, from University of Siena, will speak as well. This event honors the 2019 scholarship winners in Italian Studies.

While she is here, Professor Francellini will also be working in the Monsignor William Noe Field Archives, researching in Gillan’s collection here, where not only her physical papers but also Gillan’s blog and website are archived. Explore the finding aid for the collection, and also stop by and see the window featuring Gillan’s work on the bottom floor of Walsh Library, outside Walsh Gallery.