Female leaders in the History of Brazil: memories, material culture and representations in historical museums

Abstract

This text analyzes representations, objects, memories and narratives about women in Brazil, in museum spaces. To this end, the collections of two historical museums in Brazil are used: Museu do Ipiranga (São Paulo), Museu Anita Garibaldi (Laguna/SC), investigating the female representations of historical women leaders (heroines in official History) and the women who make part of the collection, but they are not in the Pantheon of heroes and heroines of the Fatherland. The cultural and social conceptions that underlie ‘readings of the world’ or a proposition of ‘cultural literacy’ and/or can be problematized as processes of the social imaginary, which underlies a narrative of the past. Methodologically, it analyzes the collections and exhibitions that are used in the educational sector of museums. Think about the educational practices of museums that deal with narratives, memories, images, contexts and that lead to the formation of historical consciousness, thinking of the historical museum as part of heritage. In other words, as Isabel Barca (2003, p. 100) points out, “the principle that learning varies with the concrete context in which it occurs and that this can favor or inhibit the desired results is widely corroborated. Attending to each person's feelings of belonging and contributing to the sharing of memories of a space, a country, or the world - this is one of the great challenges of Education for development and peace in our times”.