What concepts, ideas and examples from this text contribute to the theory and practice of archive ethnography?The concept Gallon provides in terms of a “technology of recovery” is important for rethinking the ways in which digital tools and platforms such as those used in archive ethnography work can serve to challenge the racialized systemic norms present in the humanities and social sciences, providing spaces for resistance to these hegemonic structures in recovering and preserving marginalized voices. As Gallon notes, we must recognize that race itself can serve as metadata. It can shape the way we view certain groups of people, their humanity, and in digital studies, influence and determine the use of digital tools themselves. An essential consideration for archive ethnography scholars is how such digital tools can be reimagined and repurposed for critical and transformative work like that of Black Digital Studies, which serve to dismantle racialized hierarchies and reform systemic inequalities in academic knowledge production.
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