This paper will address the extremely influential role of archives in collective memory and identity formation processes, and will explore how this asymmetry is magnified when considering marginalized, and specifically stateless, communities. This paper will consider this complex relationship as it relates to depictions of Palestinians in two unique digital archives. The first almost exclusively depicts the experience of Palestinian refugees post-1948, which will be exemplified by a study of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Photo and Film Archive. The second approach depicts daily life in pre-occupation Palestine, as demonstrated by the Before Their Diaspora photographic archive of the Institute for Palestine Studies. This paper aims to explore the ramifications of these two methods of representation, and hopes to gain insight into the ways these two distinct dialogues have shaped, and continue to shape, Palestinian efforts to create a cohesive national identity.
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