"ON THE WALL OF MEMORY THIS MEMORY IS THE PICTURE THAT HURTS THE MOST"

CRACKS IN TIME, LIFE STORIES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHIC GAZE IN ANTHROPOLOGICAL MAKING

Abstract

The combination of photographs and oral narratives emerges as a powerful tool for recovering and analyzing women's memories and life stories. Especially the older ones, they play a fundamental role in preserving family and community history. Through personal objects, such as photographs, clothes and household items, and oral narratives, it is possible to uncover deep meanings and rescue memories that would otherwise certainly be lost. By combining Photographs and Narratives as tools for women's historical research, it is possible to build a more complete and complex lens of understanding about the past.
Photography, in this context, is not just a visual record, becoming a historical document that complements and enriches oral narratives. Through it, it is possible to analyze visual aspects, such as clothing, settings and social relationships, which contribute to the construction of a richer and more detailed story.
Research using this methodology seeks to rescue stories that are often silenced or marginalized by traditional historiography, giving protagonism to women and valuing their experiences. By considering multiple identities such as gender, race, class and other relevant dimensions, this research seeks to demonstrate the potential of interdisciplinarity in enriching the understanding of female experiences in anthropological practice.
In short, the work argues that the combination of photographs and oral narratives represents a powerful tool for historical research, especially when the focus is on women's experiences. This approach allows the visual resumption of memories, challenging traditionally written reports, in a movement of knowledge production with a post-textual perspective.