3 . Attack against democracy in Brazil on 8 January 2023 . Photo : Marcelo Camargo . Agencia Brasil
Research on the Integration of Brazilian Museology with Dictatorship Memories
Considering this active engagement with traumatic memories of the Brazilian dictatorship compared to other human rights violations in Brazil , I investigated whether disciplines like museology have been actively involved in reflecting upon the memories of the dictatorship as portrayed in the Sites of Memory and Conscience ( SMCs ) scattered across various states , such as Ceará , Minas Gerais , Paraíba , Paraná , Pernambuco and São Paulo . Many other states also have ongoing projects in contention .
My initial investigation focused on works published after the delivery of the National Truth Commission Report in the fields of social and human sciences in national academic production . Within the field of museology and related disciplines ( history , the social sciences and anthropology ), I identified 22 works published between 2014 and 2022 . My search encompassed dissertations and theses from museology graduate programmes , articles from academic museology journals , records from museology events , records from national events in museology-related areas and the central repository of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel of the Brazilian Ministry of Education . These materials included four PhD dissertations , three Master ’ s theses , 11 articles and four essays / experience reports .
The central question of my research revolved around whether Brazilian museology had been proactive in analysing , reflecting on and contributing to regional efforts to memorialise the dictatorship . For more detailed information about the methodology and specific results of this research , I refer you to the repository of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul , in the work titled “ The Museology of Traumatic Memories ” ( BRITO , 2023 ), which delves into the dynamics of museology ’ s engagement with this theme . In Brazil , there are undergraduate , Master ’ s , and PhD programmes in Museology across the country . It is also important to mention the National Museums Policy , which provides conceptual foundations and legal regulations for the field , as well as the Federal Council of Museology , which regulates professional practice in the country .
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Observing Memories Issue 7