Where Are Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Justice in North American Graduate Archival Education?

Abstract

Recent official pronouncements by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and the exhortations of recent SAA presidents highlight the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social justice in the archival enterprise. Graduate archival education programs have immense influence in readying students for practice. Faculty members therefore have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to embed DEI and social justice in the curriculum to ensure that students are prepared to promote DEI and social justice in their professional work. This exploratory mixed-methods case study relies on semistructured interviews with 33 tenured or tenure-track graduate archival faculty and a survey of 406 students and new archival professionals (SNPs) (those with five or fewer years in the field) to explore the prevalence of DEI and social justice content in the current graduate archival curriculum. Findings suggest, first, that faculty members integrate DEI/SJ into curriculum in numerous ways but could do so more robustly and consistently. Second, SNPs did not necessarily see DEI and social justice as topics essential to optimal professional preparation. Moreover, many students were not exposed to DEI and social justice issues during their graduate education. We discuss the implications of these findings, offer recommendations for practice, and provide suggestions for further research in this underdeveloped area.