Joana Galhardas Publishes Critical Review of the Book “Archiving Cultures”

Joana Galhardas, research fellow of the InMAP project, has just published a critical review of the book “Archiving Cultures: Heritage, Community and the Making of Records and Memory” (2023) in the journal MIDAS – Museus e Estudos Interdisciplinares. The review is available in open access: https://doi.org/10.4000/14jx2

Jeannette A. Bastian, the author of the book, is Associate Professor and Director of the Archives Program at Simmons University (USA) and has a distinguished career in the study of community archives and postcolonial memory practices.

As Joana Galhardas highlights, Bastian has contributed to broadening the concept of archives beyond its institutional definition. In this book, “Archiving Cultures”, Bastian challenges traditional approaches to archives, proposing that they should be understood as dynamic cultural practices, inseparable from the social and political contexts that produce them. The notion of the archive as a continuous process—rather than a static collection—is particularly fruitful for contemporary museology, aligning with discussions on safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. This perspective is especially relevant for institutions seeking to develop participatory practices and community engagement programs.

Read the summary of this book and others like it in the annotated bibliography of the InMAP project, available on Zotero in open access: https://www.zotero.org/groups/5904736/bibliografia_inmap