We Are What We Keep: The “Family Archive”, Identity and Public/Private Heritage

Abstract

What do our possessions say about us? More specifically what do they say about our past, present and our future? Many families possess a "family archive"; documents, photographs, heirlooms, scrapbooks, recipes and a whole range of other items that "reveal insights" into past generations, and preserve family stories. They may never have thought of these assemblages as "archives", but by retaining and preserving possessions these items mold a sense of family identity either consciously or unconsciously. This article explores the initial findings of a series of focus groups conducted in the UK, which considers the "family archive" as an important and undervalued site of meaning and identity construction. The article also highlights the relationship between the "official" or publicly recognized heritage and "unofficial" or everyday/private heritage, locating the "family archive" across these domains. We argue for greater recognition and promotion of this "behind the scenes" heritage and for museums and archives to explore the potential opportunities that the engagement with the "family archive" offers for wider audience engagement. ARTICLE HISTORY

Growing up with Radicalized Parents: Lessons Learned from World War II and Recommendations Concerning Children Returning from the Caliphate

“…Third, we recommend to pay close attention to the identity development of minor returnees. In later life, it can help them to have access to information about (the origins) of their parents' choices and lives in Syria or Iraq, to be able to discover their roots (Woodham, King, Gloyn, Crewe, & Blair, 2017). Fourth, provide long-term monitoring and support on the well-being and development of minor minor returnees, given the long-term impact their experiences might have (Dye, 2018).…”

Cultural information needs of long-settled immigrants, their descendants and family members: use of collective and personal information sources about the home country

“…Practices determine the longevity of items (Lush, 2014), but many factors influence PIM practices such as mood (Whittaker and Massey, 2020), motivation (Condron, 2017, 2019), characteristics of digital possession (Cushing, 2013) or memory (Halilovich, 2014; Petrelli and Whittaker, 2010). Those factors influence the complexity of managing and preserving personal information that can be of value for the family and family archive (Woodham et al , 2017). Previous PIM research points to the need to further explore the context and challenges in managing personal collections to offer targeted tools and techniques (Jones et al , 2017; Dinneen et al , 2019).…”

Documenting Families: Paper-Work in Family Display among Planned Single Father Families

“…Yet scholarly interest in the fact that families are in some sense documented is itself not new. From written census records to collections of family photographs, social scientists have long studied both ‘official’ and ‘unofficial’ records of family life, what these might tell us about how family lives are lived, and what they reveal about familial identities (Carsten, 2000; Kramer, 2011; Woodham et al, 2017). However, despite the example of family photographs originally given by Finch (2007), there has been limited focus on the relationship between such records of family life and the interactionist perspective within family sociology.…”