Personal Archives and Historical Writing in Brazil: A Critical ReviewABSTRACT
Responding to the growing interest in personal papers and archives in the contemporary world, in this article we aim to present an overview of how these documents have been used in Brazil within a field particularly open to theoretical and epistemological reflections: the history of historiography - to which we have added intellectual history and other analogous fields. In so doing, we seek to demonstrate to a wider audience theoretical results and reflections that can be used by both specialists and researchers not entirely familiarized with these areas, but who can benefit from the theoretical implications of using documents from personal archives in their historical research. Conversely, we also look to expand the debate on the history of historiography and intellectual history towards more interdisciplinary approaches, including the use of personal archives in areas such as comparative literature and literary theory. In short, the overall goal is to deepen interdisciplinary dialogues in the history of historiography and intellectual history, contributing to a more critical use of sources in works of intellectual history and biographies in general.
Keywords: personal archives; history of historiography; intellectual history; memory studies