New Sources, New Versions: Contributions Made by the National Truth Commission Archives

Abstract

In the area of organizational studies, researcher interest in using historical sources and archives grows every day (Rowlinson, Hassard, & Decker, 2014; Yates, 2014). In order to enrich and expand upon the discussion about this movement, the aim of this article is to consider the possible contributions made by sources produced, unified and systemized by the National Truth Commission (CNV in Portuguese). Initially set up to investigate serious human rights violations committed during the Brazilian military dictatorship, the CNV (through its archives) offers organizational researchers new versions of historical facts, thereby allowing them to not only problematize and review official hegemonic historical versions but also to investigate certain organizational phenomena from a range of different perspectives. Thus, after beginning with a description of the process involving the constitution and composition of the CNV's documental archives, the article lists four initial avenues of research (a) the support of civil society in constituting and maintaining the civil-military government in power; (b) the creation of networks of civil agents working on the process of setting up and running the CNV; (c) the labor relations during this period, including union activities and the practices adopted by human resource managers under the authoritarian regime; and finally, (d) the theme of companies' historical backgrounds and memory.

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