Reseña

Technical images redefined forms of communication and the ways of bringing meaning to the visible world from the mid-19th century to the present day. Photographic practice and its circulation are important dimensions of Western visual culture which provide new experiences of seeing and knowing. In Latin America, the significant impact of photography on the organization of its visual culture can be evaluated by the existing photographic collections in museums, archives and libraries, which bring together records that allow us to know the history of countries through their photographic images.
This book provides a set of essays dedicated to the study of photography in Latin America from different approaches. In the six chapters that make up the work, the methodological uses of photography in social and cultural history are evaluated; the condition of archives and the forms of curation of photographs are analyzed; photographic practices and their impact on the constitution of a country's history are problematized; new photographic practices are revealed through the presentation of unpublished and original material; the importance of photographic records for workers' struggles is addressed; the disappearance of files in exceptional contexts is investigated; the role of photographic images as icons of events is discussed and the symbolic dimension of photographs in the war of images within photojournalism is reflected on.
We offer those who read this work a critical reflection on the role of photography in the Latin American historical experience, as we seek to consolidate the place of photography in current historical research.