Cultivating a Post-Custodial Archival Praxis: Learning from Latin America
Theresa Polk
Friday, April 16 - 2:00pm ET
Hosted by RRCHNM, George Mason University
LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections at the University of Texas in Austin has been working to develop a non-extractive, horizontal model
for archival collaboration based in the post-custodial theory of archives. The initiative aims to partner with Latin American archives and community-based organizations to support the development of local archival capacity, while digitally preserving and providing
access to vulnerable collections documenting human rights issues and underrepresented communities. The presentation will discuss the history of LLILAS Benson’s post-custodial efforts, and lessons learned through the development of the Latin American Digital
Initiatives (https://ladi.lib.utexas.edu/)
project.
Theresa E. Polk is Head of Digital Initiatives and Post-Custodial Archivist at LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections at the University of
Texas at Austin. She has a BA in Latin American Studies from Carleton College; a Masters degree in Library Science from the University of Maryland; and an MPhil in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin. Prior to coming to UT, she worked on
international human rights and development policy.