Authorship in Margot Dias Through the Reviving Lens of Post-memory

Abstract

Authorship in Margot Dias Through the Reviving Lens of Post-memory

This article seeks to test the hypothesis that the body of work authored by Margot Dias (1908-2001), a self-taught ethnologist who was a pioneer in the use of ethnographic film in anthropological research in Portugal, is more extensive than has been recognised. Brought to light by the work of the anthropologist and filmmaker Catarina Alves Costa (b. 1967), the work in Margot Dias’s own name reveals itself to be independent from that of her husband, anthropologist Jorge Dias (1907-1973). The relationship established between the two women towards the end of Margot Dias’s life, as well as the methodology used in the work they developed together, suggest that Catarina A. Costa’s contribution can be understood in the light of a process of post-memory formation.