Abstract

LOPERA ESPINOSA, Yuliana  and  BETANCUR ROLDAN, Maria Cristina. Elements of Ethnography to the Study of Personal Archives: A Methodological Approach. Rev. Interam. Bibliot [online]. 2024, vol.47, n.3, e357210.  Epub Nov 05, 2025. ISSN 0120-0976.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.rib.v47n3e357210.

This article proposes a methodological route for the study of personal archives through four elements of the ethnographic method: archival contexts, the archive and interactions of individuals, documentary practices and the temporalities in the archive. In the first part, the impact of the archival turn and postmodern ideas on the archival studies and the way of approaching archives were analyzed, transcending from the idea of archive as a source to archive as a field of study, which allowed ethnographic readings of the archives. In the second part, a proposal to analyze personal archives from the ethnographic perspective were presented, from the four elements mentioned: context, individuals, documentary practices and temporalities. Finally, it is sketched out how archival ethnography allows to rethink archival principles and documentary organization processes.

Keywords : Archival ethnography; personal archives; archival context; individuals and archive; documentary practices; temporalities in the archive.

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