Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania

The communist period in Albania was a time of intense photographic production. Much more than in previous periods, photography was perceived by those in power as an indispensable tool while at the same time becoming accessible to almost the entire population. Many photographs from the time survived...

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Main Author: de Rapper Gilles
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: De Gruyter 2022-12-01
Series:Comparative Southeast European Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2021-0083
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author de Rapper Gilles
author_facet de Rapper Gilles
author_sort de Rapper Gilles
collection DOAJ
description The communist period in Albania was a time of intense photographic production. Much more than in previous periods, photography was perceived by those in power as an indispensable tool while at the same time becoming accessible to almost the entire population. Many photographs from the time survived the end of the communist regime and can now be used to study the history and memory of that period. To be of historical value, however, the diversity of photographic genres and practices, as well as the history of the constitution of photographic archives demands consideration of the context of the production and circulation of photographs, and that is a primary objective of this article. The author shows how he conducted an ethnography of photography based on presentation of the current state of public and private collections, and how such investigation constitutes a contribution to the anthropology of communism in Albania.
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publishDate 2022-12-01
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record_format Article
series Comparative Southeast European Studies
spelling doaj-art-ccb2f89885964f03940f9fa20b42d7992025-01-02T05:57:53ZengDe GruyterComparative Southeast European Studies2701-81992701-82022022-12-0170460864110.1515/soeu-2021-0083Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albaniade Rapper Gilles0École française d’Athènes, Athens, GreeceThe communist period in Albania was a time of intense photographic production. Much more than in previous periods, photography was perceived by those in power as an indispensable tool while at the same time becoming accessible to almost the entire population. Many photographs from the time survived the end of the communist regime and can now be used to study the history and memory of that period. To be of historical value, however, the diversity of photographic genres and practices, as well as the history of the constitution of photographic archives demands consideration of the context of the production and circulation of photographs, and that is a primary objective of this article. The author shows how he conducted an ethnography of photography based on presentation of the current state of public and private collections, and how such investigation constitutes a contribution to the anthropology of communism in Albania.https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2021-0083photographyarchivescommunismalbaniaethnography
spellingShingle de Rapper Gilles
Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
Comparative Southeast European Studies
photography
archives
communism
albania
ethnography
title Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
title_full Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
title_fullStr Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
title_full_unstemmed Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
title_short Photographic Archives and the Anthropology of Communism in Albania
title_sort photographic archives and the anthropology of communism in albania
topic photography
archives
communism
albania
ethnography
url https://doi.org/10.1515/soeu-2021-0083
work_keys_str_mv AT derappergilles photographicarchivesandtheanthropologyofcommunisminalbania