Reflections on the classes

This was my first graduate level class. I am interested in history from an early age. I didn't know what to expect from taking the introductory class. I have to say I was pleasantly impressed with the class. I was also impressed with the archives introduction class. I expected a lot of work from these two classes but the workload was lighter. However, I learned a lot from these two classes.
In public history, I learned about the different career options. I had a brief understanding before that a career in either museums or archives was possible. What I came to understand is that there is a career in preservation is also possible. My interest is in archives.
The most important element that I take away is as a public historian I have to deal with controversy. I have to present history in a totally biased away. It does not matter if I offend anyone. The Enola Gay exhibit controversy drew some lessons for me. The first objective that I am going to have is to follow the mission statement of the organization that I work in. My presentation of history has to reflect that mission statement.As far as disaster recovery of an archives, thru my research paper, I have gained knowledge of the different recovery methods with respect to mold, water, and fire.
In the archives class, I learned a lot. From the terminology like accession, appraisal, to actually processing the collections will help in my career as a archivist. The five appraisal tools that I learned. From appraisal to acquisition, functional analysis, cost benefit analysis, and preservation. I learned that usually donors donate their collections to the archives. It's very important to keep a relationship with a donor. I learned about original order, respect des fonts, and provenance. I learned about the way that archivists store their documents. I also learned about securing the collections.