Personal Archives Research Articles

Архив Э.К. Пекарского как информационный ресурс

Within the framework of this article, an attempt is made to study the information potential of documents from the personal collection of Eduard Pekarsky, stored in the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the source analysis of which will help determine the directions for its further scientific use. The presented documents and historical sources constitute a scientific and historical basis for studying the issues of the formation of Sakha writing and literature of the Sakha people. Numerous documents and diaries, letters and notes from the archival collection of the ethnographer and linguist are the objects of attention of sci-entists and researchers of the development of the Yakut region, the study of the Sakha language, historians, lexicographers, ethnographers. As a result of the study, the main directions for the effective scientific use of documents from E.K. Pekarsky’s personal archive are determined, a panorama of the relationship between an individual and society is revealed, and themes that are significant for the author of the archive are focused.

Landscape architectural documents in personal archives, an added challenge

Incorporating architectural records into thematic archival institutions has been a common practice since the 1970s, a trend that has recently accelerated in the Portuguese context. The uniqueness of certain architectural records and collections has been an archival challenge, reflected by the several attempts to standardize their description in an ongoing process since the 1980s. While acknowledging the crucial work done by these institutions in preserving documents, there is also a tendency to focus on preserving fragments of an information system, which can have pernicious effects on understanding archives.
 In an attempt to understand the composition and organization of archives in the field of landscape architecture and how they can restrict or distort archival classification and knowledge, a brief comparative analysis is conducted on the corpus of documentation of three archives under the custody of thematic institutions. For enhanced understanding, a concise overview of the discipline of landscape architecture and the roles played by its practitioners is provided. This comparative analysis attempts to demonstrate how a thematic approach, breaking organic ties, even if indelible, or underestimating lesser-known contexts or producer activities, can restrict or distort archival classification and knowledge.
 The focus on Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles's archive and its ongoing organization, along with the analysis of a drawing from this archive, aims to demonstrate the need for a transition, especially in specialized or thematic institutions, from the construction of professional collections or archives to a focus on personal archives, which are organic aggregations of individuals who, during their lifetimes, also bequeathed records related to landscape architecture.

Managing Personal Files: Lessons Learned from Marriage of Soekarno and Inggit Garnasih

The aim of the study is to identify personal archives management with a case study of documentation of marriage letter archives - divorce letter of ir. soekarno and inggit garnasih. The study used a qualitative approach with a literature review method. Data was collected from documentation and observation. Personal archives management perspective, documentation of marriage letter archives - divorce letter of Soekarno and Inggit: 1) as evidence that contains event marriage-divorce witnessed and legalized by officials; 2) Manage and preserve for through lamination to avoid damage; 3) Has informational value (research needs) and intrinsic value (archival age and word usage); 4) Have historical value so that it can be given to the archival institution. individuals, families, and organizations need to manage their archives to prevent archives from being damaged, even losing a archive. Archives need to be arranged so they can easily be retrieved.

Filial Care and Familial Postmemory. On the Uncanny and Affective Intermediality of Analogue Media Use in Recent European Documentaries

Abstract Found footage filmmaking, or “archiveology” (Russell, 2008), has become a contemporary mode of understanding the collective past. At the same time, in some recent European documentaries we have a more intimate, personal use of archival (and animated) images. They construct two-strand narrative structures showing both the trauma of losing a parent and the excavation of the unresolved traumas of those ailing and passing. In Us against Us (Noi î mpotriva noastr ă, Andra Tarara, 2021) the director/daughter initiates a highly reflexive video dialogue with her schizophrenic father. Fragile Memory (Крихка пам‘ять, Igor Ivanko, 2022) is a grandson’s story about a former cameraman affected by Alzheimer’s. Postmemory and post-generational trauma work is in the focus of Aliona van der Horst’s films like Love is Potatoes (2017), in which her own mother’s emigration story is recovered through intermediality, or Turn Your Body to the Sun (2021), in which the digitally manipulated archival footage accompanies a woman’s quest for her father’s repressed memories. These are all medially hybrid films, which rely on the affordances of intermediality, and which combine present day footage with images from personal or public archives. Archiveology becomes in these films an affective tool in caring for family, and a reflection on the precarity of life and memory in general.1

GENRE AND STYLISTIC FEATURES OF N. SAURANBAYEV’S EPISTOLARY

The article is devoted to the study of genre and stylistic features of epistolary of Kazakhstan scientists. Epistolary heritage is an important component of the tradition of science and culture of any country. Its research allows to understand more deeply the development and features of this genre in the context of academic environment of Kazakhstan. The purpose of this study is to analyze the epistolary works of Kazakhstani scientists. The main directions of the work are classification of epistolary texts, identification of stylistic features of modern epistolary genre. The main idea of the research is to reveal the role of epistolary genre in scientific communication and to identify its contribution to the development of scientific discourse in Kazakhstan. The scientific significance of this work is to expand the existing knowledge about the genre and stylistic features of scientists' epistolary in the conditions of Kazakhstan's bilingualism. The study allows reconstructing the scientific picture of the biography of Kazakh scientists, revealing the typical features inherent in the epistolary genre in the academic context, which contributes to a better understanding of the linguistic situation in Kazakhstan in the context of two eras: Soviet and modern. The study was based on the analysis of epistolary works of Kazakh scientists, including scientific articles, letters, electronic correspondence from personal archives, as well as archives of academic institutions, in particular, A. Baitursynov Institute of Linguistics.

Supporting National Science Journalism through International Organization: The Creation of the Ibero-American Association of Science Journalism

ABSTRACT Science journalism associations at a national and international level have aimed to form networks of support for the professionalization of the field. In this article, we focus at the process of consolidation of one of the first of such international organizations: the Ibero-American Association of Science Journalism (AIPC), created in Medellín in 1969, which sowed the seeds for the creation of new national associations across Latin America and connected these national organizations in Latin America and Spain through international conferences, exchange programs, and training initiatives. Through the analysis of historical documentation from the personal archive of one of its main leaders, the Spanish Manuel Calvo Hernando, we explore the dynamic between the AIPC and the national associations in Latin America during this formative period.

An Encounter with Pan-Africanist Performance through the Dance-Activism of Omar Séne

Abstract This text presents a dialogue between Omar Séne, an activist-artist from Senegal, and two researchers, Sandrine Gukelberger from Germany and Anna Grimaldi from the UK. The intention of this particular collaboration is to interrogate the relationship between Pan-African activism in the present and the modes through which they relate to the past. It combines and recontextualises various artefacts, narrative interviews and extracts of Séne’s personal archive (including photographs, dance choreographies and on- and offline texts). The aim is twofold: on the one hand, we provide a situated perspective on the pathways of becoming a youth activist in Senegal today, and on the other, we explore one individual’s experience of a collective identification with Pan-Africanism. Through this text, we demonstrate how figures of the past are mobilised to drive youth engagement in the present, and how these inherited struggles are perpetuated through bodies.

Monograph review: Kabytov P.S., Fedorova N.A. Professor Ivan Mikhailovich Ionenko: personality and time. Samara: Samarskaya gumanitarnaya akademiya, 2023, 144 p.

The review is an analysis of the monograph by Kabytov P.S., Fedorova N.A. «Professor Ivan Mikhailovich Ionenko: personality and time». Professor I.M. Ionenko is a prominent Kazan historian, one of the founders of the study of the problems of the events of 1917 in the Volga region, a specialist in the field of agrarian history, head of the Department of History of the USSR at Kazan State University. The book was prepared on a diverse source base, including materials from central and regional archives, periodicals, and numerous memoirs of students and colleagues. Let us especially note the appeal to the extensive personal archive of Ionenko and his publications. The monograph presents a reconstruction of the main stages of the scientist's life path: childhood and youth in the Smolensk region, training at the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute, front-line years, work in the Kazan State Pedagogical Institute, Kazan State University. The review provides an analysis by the authors of the monograph of the scientific activity of I.M. Ionenko – problems of the Great Russian Revolution, agrarian history of the Volga region. In addition, the family environment, pedagogical and administrative activities of the scientist are shown.

Lamps by Andrii Bokotey (co-authored) in the interiors of public buildings of the 1970s and 1980s: the first creative experiments with glass

The article deals with the glass lighting compositions by Andriy Bokotey, created in collaboration in 1970-1980 for the interiors of public buildings in the former USSR. The article outlines the historical and socio-cultural prerequisites for changing the chosen medium. First of all, the beginning of the artist's work with glass and his first creative searches in the new material are comprehensively studied. The cause-and-effect relationships of the implemented functional and technological solutions are clarified. The evolution of forms and approaches to the creation of constructive design of lighting systems in the interiors of public buildings of that time is traced. It is determined how customers and architects influenced the implementation of projects. Ten three-dimensional compositions are analysed. The artistic and functional value of the realised objects is outlined. Main objective of the study is to identify the artistic and technical features of the lighting compositions made by the creative team with the participation of Andrii Bokotey and the socio-historical determination of artistic decisions. Methodology: the article uses both general scientific and specific research methods. In particular, analytical, systematic, descriptive, comparative, formal, cultural and historical methods. An interview with the author was also conducted. All the images used and the bibliography of works were provided by Andriy Bokotey from his personal archive for the creation of the research paper. Results and conclusions: Andrii Bokotey is an iconic artist in the field of art glass. His creative achievements are the subject of research by a number of eminent art historians. However, a significant layer of three-dimensional lighting compositions has remained outside their attention. The period of creating lamps in the work of Andrii Bokotey is fruitful and bright, it became a turning point in the choice of the main creative medium, but not dominant, and therefore little studied. For the first time, illustrative materials on this topic are comprehensively published and the author's creative practices are considered in the social context of the time.

Stories and Histories: Gendered Performances, Caste and Sociability in some Punjabi Domestic Tales

AbstractThe article traces the performative, familial, women‐centric, intergenerational storytelling tradition through studying Punjabi domestic tales collected in a private, intimate archive, in an ambience of mourning and celebration. Deploying the ‘archival turn’ in history‐writing, the author argues to include personal archive as a valid source in disciplinary history. Using the idea of ‘genders as genres’, the article argues that in female‐centred folktales, told to women and children, women assert their point of view, speak of their needs and desires, and hold their own. Though they may not dismantle caste‐specific patriarchies, patriarchies in folktales are also unable to subdue women.

The Power of Personal Archives in Witnessing, Teaching, and Visual Storytelling: The Armenian Memory Project

Abstract The Armenian Memory Project (AMP) is a collaborative effort designed to harness the energy and resources of the University of Connecticut and the New England Armenian community for the goal of fostering greater understanding of the region’s Armenian cultural heritage and the impact human rights crimes had on the Armenian community. In 2019, students and faculty from the university worked with Armenian American institutions and individuals on an initial component of the AMP, employing digital media technology to tell the story of one immigrant Armenian family, the Dildilians. A unique course was created to produce a documentary film centring around this family’s experiences in Ottoman Turkey before, during, and after the Armenian Genocide. Designed and taught by a documentary filmmaker with support from a family archivist/historian, the course brought students together in a collaborative learning experience. By immersing themselves in the family’s extensive photograph archive, these students came to understand the important role that the past continues to play in the lives of present-day Armenians. Furthermore, by taking on the responsibility as storytellers of the Dildilian narrative, students developed a deeper identification with this distant history and, in a wider sense, an appreciation for the ethical value of memory in bearing witness to the past. This collaborative and participatory framework for teaching using archival collections can serve as a model for creating a transformative learning experience in the study of human rights, war, and genocide.

Social media suspensions as dignity takings: Users’ personal loss in “account bombing”

Moving beyond the publicness-oriented perspective in Internet censorship studies, this article directs attention to censorship’s consequences for users’ personal lives. We examine “account bombing” in China, a phenomenon where social media platforms suspend user accounts permanently, and we focus on the loss of the “victims.” Notably, people commonly use social media accounts as personal archives that store their digital traces, from which they obtain a sense of self, and perceive the accounts as their private property. We use the dignity takings theory to illustrate the dual harm the victims suffer in account bombing: Censorship deprives them of both their social media accounts and dignity. We propose the concept of “dual dehumanization” to explain the dignity violation in account bombing, as this arbitrary conduct not only occurs in a dehumanizing manner, but also destroys users’ identity work and community ties.

Building a community of resilience and response—development of disaster response and training programmes

The increasing impact of catastrophic disasters has inspired a strong network of cooperative disaster resiliency programmes focussing on protection and response for heritage collections and sites around the world. A dedicated community of professionals has developed successful partnership organisations that form a collaboration of institutions, first responders, local community groups and volunteers. At the core in the United States is a consortium of governmental and private organisations. Advocating for and safeguarding cultural heritage against risks draws on conventions, policy frameworks and guidance, becoming an imperative part of effective collection and site management. This article outlines the history, missions, interrelationship and expanded programming of this resolute, primarily volunteer community. The evolution of strategic disaster resilience in North America is non-linear, as are the histories of the organisations and individuals who have contributed to the nascent specialty. Key people and agencies are dedicated to protecting cultural assets and progressively improving and professionalising disaster resilience and recovery. The strategic, physical and psychological needs of disaster-affected communities are now standard management protocols for cultural heritage collections. Tangible documentation of these changes and interconnections are spread between professional repositories and personal archives, with minimal finding aids and dependence on individual memories. This information is gathered, regularly shared and updated as part of experiential training but seldom published in historical or scholarly articles. This article is intended to bridge the gap between a literature review and a record of experiences that have moved the profession of cultural heritage responder and their support organisations forward in time.

Activating Personal Counter-Archives: The Case of the Amir Hassanpour Fonds

ABSTRACT In this article, through a historical and theoretical reflection on the Amir Hassanpour Fonds, held at the University of Toronto, the author investigates the role of personal and community archives in counter-archiving in the Middle East, especially in Iran. He expands on his experience working on appraising, describing, and arranging the Amir Hassanpour Fonds at the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services (UTARMS) to argue that archiving a diasporic and revolutionary counter-archive calls for more than a procedural and habitual institutional practice. To activate such a counter-archive, there should be, first, close attention paid to the memory institutions against which the counter-archive has been developed. Such close attention calls for an investigation into the larger political structures in which the memory institutions are embedded. Second, the counter-archive should be understood in the broader modes and methods of cultural and memory resistance in that specific political structure, engaging analytically and theoretically with the creator's counter-archiving praxis, in this case Amir Hassanpour's Marxist internationalist revolutionary approach. The article ends with a brief discussion of the various ways UTARMS attempted to enliven this specific fonds.

Lessing's Legacy Explored Through Her Personal Archive

Lessing's Legacy Explored Through Her Personal Archive

Personal archives and human rights

RESUMO O artigo discute a existência de documentos e arquivos de direitos humanos, analisando o uso dessa classificação em arquivos públicos e privados, institucionais e pessoais. Arrola e critica fatores históricos, teóricos e metodológicos que favorecem o uso dessa classificação mais comumente em arquivos públicos e defende que, independentemente do caráter de seus produtores e acumuladores, é o uso posterior dos documentos e arquivos que permite que sejam considerados de direitos humanos.

Коллекция монгольских ксилографов и рукописей А. Ш. Баира в архивах Тувы

Introduction. Contemporary Mongolian studies tend not only to further introduce written monuments into scientific circulation but rather seek to classify the latter in terms of individual collections, identify their compilers. The paper deals with the collection of Aleksey S. Bair contained in Tuva’s two major repositories — National Archive of Tuva and Tuvan Institute for Humanities and Applied Socioeconomic Research (Scientific Archive). Goals. The article attempts a review of Mongolian xylographs and manuscripts collected by A. Bair, a statesman with expertise in Classical Mongolian. Materials and methods. The collection comprises Mongolian xylographs and manuscripts from his personal archives currently stored at the National Archive of Tuva (Coll. no. 542) and over fifty various texts included in the Mongolian Collection of Tuvan Institute for Humanities and Applied Socioeconomic Research. The historical-comparative and chronological methods prove instrumental in systemizing the reviewed written monuments, while that of textual criticism has been employed to identify certain narratives. Results. The study has discovered Tuvan Institute for Humanities and Applied Socioeconomic Research (Scientific Archive) houses a wide range of texts descending from A. Bair’s collection, and clarifies some of the latter’s titles. The work also specifies that individual manuscripts had served as bases for Tuvan chronicles in Classical Mongolian. Conclusions. A. Bair’s collection includes a total of seventy Mongolian xylographs and manuscripts that essentially extend our knowledge of how Mongolian-language compositions had been disseminated in the territory of present-day Tuva. Quite a share of the collection is compiled from records management documents with valuable historical accounts of the shaping of Tuvan People’s Revolutionary Party and Youth Revolutionary Union.

Personal archives and social networks: Twitter built as historical document

RESUMO Este texto visa discutir as implicações do Twitter, construído para ser um documento histórico. Para isso, balizaremos os argumentos nas discussões sobre arquivos públicos e pessoais, bem como as novas demandas do universo digital, no qual entendemos que esses dados são de natureza pessoal, mas se tornam públicos no Twitter. Compreende-se que os dados cedidos à plataforma precisam ser arquivados para se configurarem como documentos históricos. Por isso, buscou-se demonstrar como é formado um arquivo do Twitter para pesquisa em história e formas de análise, construindo a evidência a partir do episódio de ataques às sedes dos Três Poderes, em 8 de janeiro de 2023.

Personal archives: contemporary debates

Personal archives: contemporary debates

Bishop Nicholai Velimirovich as the Comforter of Grieving Parents

Bishop Nicholai (Velimirovich) of Ohrid and Žiča addressed two priests on the occasion of the death of their children in 1937 and 1940. These statements of condolence are found in the personal archives of the priests and now are being published for the first time. From these letters, we see expressions of Velimirovich’s pastoral care, as well as how he tried to provide Christian consolation to the grieving parents. The theological expression of Bishop Nicholai in these statements is also important. He wrote as a bishop, with the desire to remind parents of eternal life and unquenchable trust in God, which they should not neglect, but should completely surrender to him and even give praise to God — with gratitude for the life of the remaining children.