Christopher Walsh

I am a PhD student in Communication, Information, and Media at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information, in the Library and Information Science concentration. I received a Master of Information, concentrating in Archives & Preservation, from Rutgers in 2021. My research interests center on how documents are used in the construction of memory, heritage, culture, and identities, how communities circulate, understand, and re-contextualize physical records and books, and the role of cultural and information institutions in organizing document and artifactual knowledge. My other interests include analytical bibliography, rare books and manuscripts, and the history of the book.

Research

My current research focus is on the organization and exchange information in manuscript and printed book forms, how it is transferred, catalogued, and classified in digital community archival projects, and the networks of translation and physical practice that inform community identity and development. I explore the relationship between rare books, contemporary heritage production, embodied practice, and affective experience.

I am advised by Dr. Marija Dalbello.

Education

  • PhD Student in Communication, Information, and Library Studies, Rutgers University, School of Communication, Information, and Media (beginning Fall 2021). Library and Information Science concentration.
  • Master of Information, Rutgers University – New Brunswick (2021). ALA-accredited. Archives & Preservation concentration.
  • BA in History, Michigan State University (2011). Asian Studies Specialization.

Additional Education

London Rare Books School, IES, SAS, London

  • Recognising and Dating English Bookbindings, 1450-1850 (2021)

London International Paleography School, IES, SAS, London

  • Introduction to the Codicology of Medieval Manuscripts (2022)
  • Introduction to Palaeography and Medieval Manuscript Studies (2021)
  • Early Modern English Palaeography 1500-1700 (2021)

Mandarin Training Center, National Taiwan Normal University

  • Intensive Program (2015)

Conference Presentations

  • Walsh, C. (upcoming, 2023, February ). “Mutable Deceptions:” Prop Newspapers, Truth, and Lies in Chaosium’s “Call of Cthulhu [paper presentation]. Print: Theories, Histories & Futures. 25th Annual Comparative Literature Conference. Hybrid/University of South Carolina
  • Walsh, C. (2022, September). Crowdfunding Digital Fight Books: A Historical European Martial Arts Case Study [paper presentation]. DH+BH: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Digital Humanities and Book History. Conducted online.
  • Walsh, C. (2022, July). Rare Book Facsimiles in Communities of Practice: Authenticity, Heritage, and Feeling [paper presentation]. Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing: Power of the Written Word, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Walsh, C., Wingate, A., Brown, S., Jacobson, C., St. Jean, M., Murray, G. (2022, July). Being Bookish Online: Digital Platforms & Building Community During COVID-19 [roundtable panel]. Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing: Power of the Written Word, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Walsh, C. (2022, April). Playing the Real: Creating Documentary Authenticity in Chaosium’s “Call of Cthulhu” [paper presentation]. Pop Culture Association 2022 National Conference. Online.
  • Walsh, C. (2021, July). Rekindling Tradition: Fight Books, Digital Archives, & Heritage in Historical European Martial Arts [paper presentation]. Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing: Moving Texts. Online.
  • Walsh, C. (2021, June). Bringing Back to Life the Dead Arts: Medieval and Early Modern Books and the Making of Heritage in Historical European Martial Arts [paper presentation] EMREM 2021 Annual Symposium. Conducted online.

Awards

  • SC&I Fellowship, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, 2021-2022
  • Sambrook Award Bursary. London International Paleography Summer School, IES, SAS, London (2021, 2022)
  • Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, Department of Library and Information Science, School of Communication & Information, Rutgers University (2020)

Teaching

Social Informatics (Teaching Assistant, Fall 2022 & Spring 2023)

This course provides a survey of the key social issues related to information technology development, decision-making and use. Its focus is on the critical analysis of social, cultural, philosophical, ethical, legal, public policy and economic issues relating to information technologies, and how these interactions shape workplace decisions and technology use.

A required course in the Information Technology and Informatics major at Rutgers University-New Brunswick School of Communication and Information

Additional Experience

Board Member, American Museum of Magic, Marshall, Michigan.

  • Board Secretary (2022), Vice Chair (2022-2023)
  • I sit on the Collections Committee, contribute to library and museum collections development and cataloguing, coordinate archival collections preservation and processing, and oversee some archival and library volunteers.
  • I oversaw the implementation of Catalogit.app as a digital cloud-based collections management software.

Memberships

  • American Library Association (ALA)
  • Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, ACRL (ALA)
  • Society of American Archivists
  • Bibliographical Society of America (BSA)
  • Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP)
  • The Early Book Society
  • Beta Phi Mu, Omicron Chapter

Languages

  • English (Native)
  • Mandarin Chinese (conversational, reading. Traditional and Simplified)
  • Japanese (basic)
  • Latin (basic)
  • French (basic)