Displays of identity: A community-engaged approach to studying identity through photo diaries

Summary

This study is part of a larger research project, which looks at displays of social identity and the effects of influence from outside contemporaneous groups in pre-Columbian Peru. In studying past communities, we look beyond our own interpretations of "who" we perceived people to be and begin asking questions that reveal who they thought they were and how they chose to advertise that to those deemed "other." The nature of this research requires working closely with contemporary local communities who remain tied to their prehistoric landscapes and understanding the affects that may have on how they perceive themselves today. To this end, a community-engaged study on the advertisement of contemporary identities was conducted in the agro-pastoral town of Cosma, situated in the Cordillera Negra at the headwaters of a branch of the Nepeña Valley. Participants from the Cosma community created photo diaries during the 2016 field season, where they were able to take photos they believed best represented who they were within their community. This paper will present on the methods we utilized, the issues and problems we encountered, overarching themes represented in the photographs, and the preliminary results of this pilot study within the Cosma community.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Collaborative and Community Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16125