6.2 Identity information

Positionality and identity information gathered about a creator is placed in a paragraph at the end of the biographical note. Follow the general paragraph construction found below and ensure that you provide where this information was obtained from (e.g. from the creator directly, family members, or presumptions made by the archivists based on records in the fonds or other information sources).

The ways in which the creators of archival records identify themselves and are identified by others is a key contextual aspect of understanding their perspectives and approach. Mary Queen of Scots identified as a British, heterosexual, white woman as outlined in her own writings.

OR

The ways in which the creators of archival records identify themselves and are identified by others is a key contextual aspect of understanding their perspectives and approach. Mary Queen of Scots was socially understood as white. This information is based on an assessment of records made by the archivist.

When applicable, we use “white” as an ethnic and racial identity to name whiteness, so that it is no longer the presumed default of the people represented in our collections.1

Endnotes

  1. This policy was inspired by those of the UNC Libraries: Anne Wells and Nancy Kaiser, “Style Guide” (UNC Libraries, 2020), https://github.com/UNC-Libraries/TS-Archival-Procedures-Manual/blob/main/Style%20Guide.md ↩