Students from the Department of Business and Management have attended a workshop introducing the Special Collections at The Keep.
Karen Watson, Special Collections Archivist, welcomed International Accounting and Corporate Governance MSc students to The Keep on Thursday 26 April for a special session of their International Corporate Reporting module.
As none of the students had ever been to The Keep before, Karen introduced them to the treasure trove of historical accounting and other resources held in the archive.
The students discovered a wide range of resources, including The Garden Accounts Book maintained by Leonard Woolf, 1919-1956; Mass Observation Project Directive, Spring 2010, Personal Finances; Ashburnham Family Day Book (1710) and Servants’ Wages (1810); and Accounts from the Common Wealth Party, 1939.
Two of Sussex’s accounting historians, Frances Miley and Andrew Read, joined the workshop to provide the students with guidance on how to use the archival information for dissertation and other research, bringing the archives to life for the students.
Speaking after the workshop, Makailla McConnell, module convenor for 871N1 International Corporate Reporting, said: “I’d like to thank the wonderful Karen Watson and The Keep for welcoming us all to this unique collection. The students were very enthusiastic and fully engaged with the staff and material.”
Among the students attending the workshop was Majdi Alzeeralhouseini, who said: “I liked how organised and careful The Keep staff were to preserve these invaluable resources. Needless to say, they were very keen to get us involved in what they do!”
Another student, Ranti George, also commented: “Before visiting The Keep, I had no idea that we had access such archives. Now that I know the archives are available to me, I'm encouraged to use them when researching a topic.”
Karen Watson was delighted by the response to the session: “It was great to see the students so engaged!”
Find out more about Masters courses in the Department of Business and Management