Special Collections in the Classroom

Bucknell University's Special Collections/University Archives recently acquired various rare books that have been integrated into curricular initiatives.

Unpopular Archives

This article explores the “unpopular” archived life of Charles P. Daly, thirty-five-year president (1864–1899) of the New York–based American Geographical Society. This one-time highly prominent judge and civic leader popularized geography among professionals and the public alike. Daly’s popular geography, along with his subsequent containment within the archives, suggests explanations for his dismissal among geographical audiences of today. It is a useful and necessary exercise to trace the neglect of Daly within histories of geography and recapture him for today’s audiences, not only because of his influence on post–Civil War American geography but also because his story can shed light on how “disciplinary remembering” functions in geography.

Organizational Frames for Professional Claims: Private Military Corporations and the Rise of the Military Paraprofessional

Corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and other organizational forms are major players in the sodal world. Recently, sociological scholarship on organizations has converged with research on the professions to discuss the ways in which professions are shaped or influenced by different organizational forms. In this article, I borrows from the notion of framing within social movement research to argue that organizational forms frame the bids of aspiring professionals. More specifically, I argue that certain organizational forms-such as that of the modern corporation-can aid would-be professionals in making their claims for professional recognition. Organizations do this, I argue, by providing aspiring professionals with a ready-made setting, rationale, and guarantees that make the newcomers more easily recognizable as professionals to outside audiences. I explore this argument by examining how the corporate form has facilitated private military contractors in their attempts to legitimate and develop this highly controversial new industry. The data are drawn from my interviews with private military contractors, state officials, and other interested parties surrounding private military corporations, as well as from archival data that detail the rise of the private military industry.