“Introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (documents in Latin to ca. 1350)”
3rd Mediterranean Studies Summer Skills Seminar (Online)

Date & Location: 12—15 May 2020 • University of Colorado Boulder
Faculty: Prof. Brian A. Catlos (Religious Studies, CU Boulder/ Humanities, UC Santa Cruz)

This four-day intensive skills seminar was intended to provide participants with an overview of the collections of the ACA, including access to online resources and reproductions, and focus on a hands-on introduction to reading unedited documents from a variety of the archive’s fonds. Other topics included: manuscript abbreviations, dating systems, place and personal names, and research resources and techniques. As much as possible the content was catered to participants’ interests and needs. The goal was to provides participants with a solid preparation in paleography and diplomatics, as well as on the organization of the ACA so that they could move straight to conducting work remotely via the PARES web portal or on-site at the ACA — skills and techniques useful not only at the Archive of the Crown but at other medieval archives across Spain and Europe.

The Skills Seminar was initially planned as a five-day workshop to he held in Boulder. Due to the unfortunate irruption of COVID-19 the format was switched to remote (via ZOOM). Participants included 25 faculty members, post-doctoral scholars and graduate students from universities across the US, and from Canada, Australia, Spain and the Netherlands.

Registered Participants:
• Aaron Adam (University of Texas Knoxville)
• Nicole Archambeau (Colorado State University Fort Collins)
• Amel Bensalim (Queens University)
• Eleanor A. Congdon (Youngstown State University)
• Julia Costa Lopez (University of Groningen)
• Nathan Robert Dodgens (Universidad de Alicante)
• Claire Dwyer (Columbia University)
• Frank Espinosa (University of Michigan)
• Erica Ferg (Regis University)
• Matthew Gorey (Wabash College)
• Eva Kuras (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
• Susy Kenyon (University of Texas Knoxville)
• Vicente Lledo Guillem (Hofstra University)
• Ana Méndez-Oliver (Syracuse University)
• Stacey Murrell (Brown University)
• Nahir Otaño Gracia (University of New Mexico)
• Zita Rohr (University of New South Wales)
• Sally Simpson (University of Colorado Boulder)
• Andrew R. Smith (Columbia University)
• Charles Steinman (Columbia University)
• Frankie Urrutia-Smith (Penn State)
• Shannon Wearing (University of Toronto)
• Dillon Webster (Brown University)
• Jessica Weiss (Metro State University)
• Burt Westermeier (Yale University)

Some comments from participants:
“The course was fantastic! Not only did it include a lot of helpful and guided reading practice, but the introduction of the different archival fonds, exploration of potential research topics, and historical discussion was fascinating and enormously helpful.”

“The course was a great introduction to the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. It also gave an excellent hands-on practice on diplomatics. Brian was very generous on giving important insight of how to navigate archival research in Cataluña and in general, and good advise on publishing and how to network. Brian's insights are extremely valuable for graduate students, and junior scholars.”

“Brian was great! Teaching a course like this online is particularly challenging, but it worked wonderfully. His dedication in not only teaching the material, but also following up on specific questions relating to the research interests of the participants - even outside of class! - was commendable.”

“The course was well structured, and it had clear objectives. Brian was very knowledgeable on the topic, and was very approachable. He was also very energetic, which was impressive considering that everything was done through Zoom.”

“Good mix of lecturing and practice, and it was easy to participate/ask questions. Reading practice was emphasized and it was a great opportunity to utilize Dr. Catlos' expertise while picking up practical skills. At times Dr. Catlos went over time so that we could continue working through a document, which was great.”

“I felt like there was not a moment of instructional time wasted. The instructor was friendly and challenged the students without making them feel bad. He livened up the discussion of the technical aspects of the archive with stories about his experiences and with demonstrations of how one's research can lead to publications.”

“I consider myself privileged to have been able to attend this course. I would take it again and I would recommend it to everyone. Moreover, it has also been an example of good teaching, kindness, and academic passion and talent.”

“I think it is an excellent seminar for scholars that work on medieval and early modern periods.”

“I will absolutely spread the word among my document-minded art historian friends.”