Photography in Latin America: History and historiography (19th & 20th century)

Abstract

Since the end of the last century, the historiography of photography in Latin America began a period of rapid transformation due to two factors that stimulated the development of this field in the region: the accelerated evolution of photographic archives and the entry of photography as an object of study in universities. These changes gave rise to a methodological reflection that brought historians closer to the world of images, confronting them with unique challenges and possibilities in relation to other types of sources. The need to develop a specific vocabulary and methodology for the analysis of these images and to focus the study of photography as part of a chain that involves several agents was postulated. An understanding of the historical dimension of photography was proposed, not only as an artistic expression but fundamentally as the history of a means of recording, communication and expression with diverse purposes. The use of images as primary sources was encouraged, respecting their context, their multiple social functions, and their stories and itineraries. This dossier seeks to account for this diversity, vitality and renewal of historiographic studies on Latin American photography from different theoretical and methodological perspectives.