Facilites

Department of Archive Studies of Institute of History has setup an Archives at the New Campus of Government College University at KSK which comprises published, unpublished, public, official, and private records since 1602. GCU Archives at the Institute of History is a place where you can get firsthand data, facts and evidence from letters, reports, notes, newspapers and other primary sources. Our collections include invaluable administrative and departmental reports, archaeological surveys, university calendar, census reports, gazetteers of India, and legislative debates. Archive studies enables students to gain critical praxis through reflecting on personalised and mainstream public perspectives. The programme builds up on and considers multiple theoretical and methodological practices which constitute the form and content of institutionalisation of the archives.

This discipline helps to make archival materials accessible to users and explores the association of archives with public education and policy. For this purpose, the Institute of History has a vast array of archives starting from as early as 17th century with the letters of East India Company.

These resources will equip students with the ability to understand the importance and worth of our past. They will also reveal and open areas of research that have not been explored yet resulting in a diverse dimension to research. All these documents are openly accessible for all students.

There is free access to the museum for the public with proper permission.

The graduates of the Department will be known for their grasp on understanding and managing archives. They will be exceptionally successful in securing positions in archives, libraries, record repositories, museums, galleries, and non-profit organizations both nationally and internationally.

Potential designations: Archives conservators and preservers, directors, Archive studies professors, record managers, archives librarians, research officers, record keepers, data managers, microfilming officers, and cataloguers.

• MPhil students are assigned academic advisors (faculty members) for advice on academic careers, scholarships, choice of subjects, and advice on non-credit courses.
• We impart rigorous training through the supervision of theses which has attracted international students across the globe. Thesis Review Committees for MPhil and PhD students conduct regular presentations of research students and ensure that the theses are submitted to satisfy the high standards of research.
• A Graduate Research Room for research scholars provides a peaceful place for thesis writing.
• The Institute of History edits a peer-reviewed research journal, The Historian, a semi-annual scholarly journal of Government College University Press.
• Our faculty members also edit the Pakistan Journal of Historical Studies, a scholarly journal published by the Indiana University Press, Bloomington, USA.

With an access to the Punjab Archives, Lahore Museum, National History Museum, Walled City, and the Punjab Public Library, the Department is an ideal place to engage in teaching and research. The University’s Central Library houses many special collections in multiple languages, as well as a rich collection of rare books and archival material dating from the nineteenth century.

The Department provides Course Handbooks to its students to assist them in settling into studies more efficiently. These handbooks contain vital information about weekly lecture breakup, recommended readings, rubrics for assignments and exam questions, and other matters which students will need throughout the course.

The Department regularly publishes Graduate Handbook which contains necessary information related to academic advisors, course handbooks, process flow charts of re-sit of midterm examination and course repetition, areas of research for selecting thesis topics, guidelines for writing the thesis, responsibilities of supervisors and supervisees, and rubrics for evaluating MPhil theses.

Group and panel discussions are strongly encouraged among students and interactive sessions with teachers. Discussion on archival sources and visits to historical sites are an integral part of the Department’s teaching strategies. The Department holds a screening of movies and documentaries to enable students to understand historical emotions, attitudes, contexts, and cognitive frameworks. Exhibitions of special collections and historical artefacts in collaboration with Punjab Archives are curated. Regular workshops and seminars encourage students to develop research skills. Collaborations with reputed international universities for joint online teaching and interaction with leading historians and peers in other universities are arranged regularly.

Department’s assessment strategies consider students’ understanding of a historical problem based on scholarly perspectives, theoretical approaches, techniques for analysing primary sources, and students’ points of view about that historical issue. Rubrics for essays, exams, and theses help students to understand the expectations associated with each grade.