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Welcome!

I am a Mexican writer, archivist, and Ph.D. Candidate in History at the University of Texas at Austin, where I am also a CONTEX doctoral fellow. Inspired by Mexican history and the changes in information management in the digital world, in my work I explore the history of Mexico's General Archive.

My dissertation project tentatively titled Mexico’s House of Memory: The General Archive in the Long 19th Century, 1790 – 1910  is an exploratory history of this institution and its representation in history. Through an analysis of its material, social, and cultural conditions of development, my research delves into the fundamental questions of why modern nations need archives, how and who have assembled them, and how their objectives and accessibility have changed over time.

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Why study archives?

The digital context

The revolution in digital communication technologies has transformed the methods of historical analysis and archival sciences alike. To study archival history is to address the history of information management technologies and of the communities that developed and applied them. 

Access to information

Since 1948, the right to access information has been recognized as a fundamental human right, ensuring transparency in public affairs. Archives worldwide play a crucial role in upholding, implementing, and sometimes restricting this right. Studying their structures and history is thus an act of advocacy, reinforcing ideals of information access and data privacy.

Social justice

From a human rights standpoint, the access to archives is a fundamental characteristic for the implementation of transitional justice processes. Archives, as evidence of action, are sites where the past and contemporary global political struggles can be analyzed, questioned, and reframed. 

Lack of scholarly attention 

Critical archival scientists contend that historians since the 19th century have sexualized archives by portraying them as passive and feminized entities. This tradition led to a lack of historical attention to archives and archival practices, neglecting their active and assertive role in shaping the discipline of history and the State. Archival history challenges these assumptions, presenting archives as historic entities in their own right.

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Writing

Here you can find the links to my published writing. 

(In addition to academic writing, I also write essay and fiction which I hope to publish someday).

Public engagement

Here, you will find links and accompanying details of my efforts to disseminate the influence of my research beyond academic borders. So far, these include podcast participation, seminars, and recorded digital workshops.

Access the recordings by clicking on the images below

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CV

Access a full version of my CV here.

Education

2020 - Present

Ph.D. in History
University of Texas at Austin

2020 - Present

M.A. in History
University of Texas at Austin

2018 - 2019

M.A. in Gender Studies
Central European University

2013 - 2017

Bachelor's in History
Universidad Iberoamericana

CONTEX doctoral fellow
Comprehensive Exams (May 5, 2023): Exceptional Pass
 

Thesis: "The Eternal Belongs to Eternity: Ignacio Cubas and the National Archive (Mexico, 1823 – 1845)" 
Awarded the Jan Carleton Perry Prize for best M.A. thesis in the History Department

Completed a specialization in Research Design in Women’s Studies with Distinction
Thesis: The Invention of a Concept for the Murder of Women: A Historical Study on the Development of Feminist Knowledge Production

Awarded “Academic Excellence Scholarship” for outstanding academic performance

Email

camilaordoricab AT utexas DOT edu

Mail 

University of Texas at Austin. 128 Inner Campus Dr. B7000, GAR 1.104, Austin, Texas 78712-1739

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