This week, as you search for primary documents for your final projects, I’d like

This week, as you search for primary documents for your final projects, I’d like us to take the time to reflect on public records laws. Much of my research involved public records requests from government agencies, and this process is governed by the “sunshine laws” of the State of Florida, otherwise known as Chapter 119 (Links to an external site.). At the federal level, this is often called FOIA (Links to an external site.)requests. While there is a long list of exemptions, many government records are, in fact, available to the public. Some agencies post some of their records in open archives on their websites, and other documents you would need to request through the records custodian (these requests can and often do come with fees).
As you try to find primary documents for your cases, dig into what kinds of records laws govern the availability of government documents and information in your place. Is it easy to find documents? Do they make it difficult? Do they automatically charge for this information?
Also, I’d like to offer one other thing to consider while you are searching for records. A key neoliberal strategy is to privatize, privatize, privatize. While there are many points to debate both the pros and cons of privatization, one thing is abundantly clear. In most industries, organization records for privately owned companies are NOT open for public inspection (with some exceptions for large corporations who go public, but even these are very restricted through the use of “propriety law” restrictions). Do you think it’s possible that some industries that used to be run by local or higher-level government agencies are now privatized as a way to avoid FOIA or public records requests? It’s something to ponder!
I’m so curious to hear what you are encountering in your research!

Reminder
This is a more informal weekly opportunity to work through impressions and personal reflections about the topics covered from that week. Students may earn extra credit in this discussion if they research and share their compelling research with the class (this could be academic articles, primary documents, YouTube links to primary discussions related to the topic, art, music, etc.).
These posts are worth 10 points total:
6 for your post
2 for a thoughtful response to one peer
2 for another thoughtful response to a second peer.