Ethics and Truth in Archival Research: The Case Study of Jewish Women in Argentina  
Joanna Spyra, PhD candidate
University of Bergen, Norway
Type: Poster
Abstract: 
 I would like to discuss some ethical questions involving the status of dead subjects as well as issues related to the practice of anonymizing historical records and confidentiality. To examine these issues, I will specifically focus on the nuances of the ethical commitments that balance the need for embracing the past, conceptualizing suffering and developing knowledge which society needs or which would benefit particular groups or segments with the idea of concealing true identities that can contribute not only to the marginalization of certain groups (e.g. mentally ill) in the past but also in the present.Since ethical dilemmas are better understood when grounded in real struggles experienced by researchers, I will be using a unique set of archives (Ezras Noshim’s reports) that exemplifies all the previously mentioned issues. This poster explores questions that are universal and applicable for all historians who deal with any type of personal records. 

Ezras Noshim was a Jewish organization helping women established in in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the 1920s. Ezras Noshim’s annual reports are available in the archives of La Fundación IWO (Institute for Jewish Research) in Buenos Aires and in The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem. Most of the documents include cases of Jewish women from Eastern Europe whose behavior violated social norms and caused complaints from the community. These documents are considered confidential and sensitive. They are not digitized, and they are only available to view in person for researchers who have requested an appointment. The archive in Argentina has a strict policy and does not allow to take pictures of the documents. IWO does not have any official catalog regarding Ezras Noshim’s collection and the documents are just loosely segregated in several boxes. Almost the same set of documents is available in the archive in Israel. CAHJP has less strict rules and gives access to an online public Ezras Noshim’s catalog (that does not include names). A researcher can request desired documents, view them in the CAHJP’s office and in addition is allowed to photograph them.  

A lack of university ethics procedure, a variety of competing legal restrictions, unwritten ethical conventions and professional obligations can cause perplexity and confusion. Major ethical dilemmas like freedom of research, search for the truth and developing knowledge valuable for the society stay in a close relationship to more practical ethical commitments like the rights to privacy and confidentiality or anonymization of archival records. Digitization projects and further discussions about closure periods can contribute to another level of complexity and make these issues even more nuanced and ethically loaded.  I do not aspire to find a single solution or one approach that would resolve all the ethical obligations related to “sensitive” historical records. Rather, I am trying to draw attention to challenges that a historian has to face and difficult decisions she or he has to make individually.

References: 

Books:
1.	Ablard Jonathan D. Madness in Buenos Aires: Patients, Psychiatrists, and the Argentinian State. 1880 – 1983. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2008. 
2.	Avni Haim. Clientes, rufianes y prostitutas. Comunidades judías de Argentina e Israel frente a la trata de blancas. Buenos Aires: Editorial Leviatan, 2014. 
3.	Baudrillard Jean, Symbolic Exchange and Death, London: Sage, 2004. 
4.	Ben Plotkin Mariano ed. Argentina on the couch: Psychiatry, State, and Society, 1880 to the present. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press: 2003.
5.	Foucault Michel. The Archeology of Knowledge and The Discourse on Language. New York: Vintage Book Edition, 2010.
6.	McGee Deutsch Sandra. Crossing Borders, Claiming a Nation. A History of Argentine Jewish Women, 1880-1955. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2010. 
7.	Rodriguez Julia. Civilizing Argentina. Science, Medicine and the Modern State. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2006. 
8.	Yarfitz Mir. Impure Migration. Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. Rutgers University Press: 2019.
Journal articles: 
1.	Ben Plotkin Mariano. “Freud, Politics, and the Portenos: The Reception of Psychoanalysis in Buenos Aires, 1910-1943.” Hispanic American Historical Review, (1997).
2.	Coleborne Catherine. “Reading Insanity’s Archive: Reflections from four archival sites.” Provenance: The Journal of Public Record Office Victoria, issue no. 9, (2010).
3.	Fogel Curtis, Andrea Quinlan, Liz Quinlan and Qianru She, Ethical issues in socio-historical archival research: a short skit, Research Ethics Review (2010) Vol 6. 
4.	Parle Julie. “The Voice of History? Patients, Privacy and Archival Research Ethics in Histories of Insanity.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, (2007). 
5.	Wright David and Renée Saucier. Madness in the Archives: Anonymity, Ethics, and Mental Health History Research. Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, Volume 23, Number 2, (2012).
Websites:
1.	BBC News. “Amia bombing: Argentina and Iran agree truth commission.” Accessed: April 3, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21225832. 
2.	The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem. “Sociedad Ezrat Nashim en Buenos Aires - Carpetas personales.” Accessed: April 3, 2020. http://cahjp.nli.org.il/webfm_send/1348.
3.	The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees. “Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Theology.” 4th edition, 2016. Accessed: April 3, 2020. https://www.etikkom.no/en/ethical-guidelines-for-research/guidelines-for-research-ethics-in-the-social-sciences--humanities-law-and-theology/.

Ethics and Truth in Archival Research: The Case Study of Jewish Women in Argentina

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