The Capturing Contemporary Latin American Business History: Oral History and Digital Resources conference was held in Santiago, Chile, on July 15, 2016. The full-day event was focused on how the new materials generated by the Business History Initiative’s Creating Emerging Markets project could transform research and teaching in management studies and business history in Latin America. Scholars and educators came from leading universities in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, including Universidad de San Andrés, CONICET, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad del Desarrollo, CIEPLAN, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, Universidad de Los Andes, and Univesidad del Pacífico.
There were lively discussions throughout the day about the relevancy and use of oral history in research, and about the use digital methodologies including video in the classroom. An important component of the event was learning from past interviews to prepare for a new set of CEM interviews planned in the region over the following twelve months, which will pay special attention to business leaders in Colombia and Peru. The event was jointly organized with the Regional Office in Santiago of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.
Each session focused on a group of interviews, and explored how they can be used in scholarly publications and in the classroom. Erica Salvaj, the Academic Director of Executive Education School of Business and Economics at Universidad del Desarrollo(Chile), shared her thoughts on two interviews: Amalia Lacrozede Fortabat and Sven Von Appen. See her presentation below.