Património cultural e discursos museológicos: narrativas de memórias e identidades locais.

Abstract

By understanding that the cultural heritage is constituted as a social space for political, economic and symbolic dispute, this article aims to identify and reflect how the cultural diversity and the collective memories of Gramame Valley communities (Paraíba, Brazil) are represented in the exhibition narrative of the Escola Viva Olho do Tempo Community Museum. The debate takes into account ideas already discussed by authors dealing with the cultural heritage as a category of thought, as well as issues raised by Stuart Hall about the construction of cultural identity in modernity, the creation of memory as a social element, from Maurice Halbwachs and Paul Ricouer, and the power relations that involve the idea of symbolic capital proposed by Pierre Bourdieu. In addition to the theoretical research, this work was based on participant observation during the fieldwork, which took place between 2014 and 2015. As a result, it is proposed that museums are spaces made up of power and empowerment. Thus, new subjects and social groups such as the communities of Gramame Valley, commonly unrepresented or silenced in these spaces, are taking ownership of museums to conform their memories and identities.