Atlantic & pacific connections: communities of practice, gender, and colonialism

• Grant number: 25/02833-7
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Historical Archaeology
• Mobility Program: SPRINT - Projetos de pesquisa - Mobilidade
• Principal Investigator: Marianne Sallum
• Grantee: Marianne Sallum
• Principal researcher abroad: Sandra Montón Subías
• Institution abroad: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Spain
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/04746-1 - Gender, memories and materialities of interaction/confluence: indigenous and afro-descendant women in the historical archaeology of São Paulo, AP.JP

Abstract

This is a long-term historical archaeology project dedicated to scientific collaboration and the training/development of researchers and students. The two teams have joined efforts due to many similarities in their research lines, themes, theories, methods, perspectives, and viewpoints, considering that the exchange of experiences and data in areas of convergence will accelerate mutual learning processes and the development of their projects. The FAPESP Young Investigator Grant (JP) based at UNIFESP-Guarulhos will benefit from the internationally recognized expertise of Dr. Sandra Montón Subías from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona (UPF). She leads the Research Groups on Colonialism, Gender, and Materialities (CGM) and Social Archaeology and Gender Studies (GRASEG), both at Pompeu Fabra University (https://www.upf.edu/web/cgym). Additionally, she is the principal investigator of the MaGMa project (Material Culture, Gender, and Maintenance Activities in Making and Resisting Early Modern Colonial Globalization: A Long-term Perspective from the Mariana Islands), funded by the European Research Council (ERC) for the period from January 2025 to December 2030.The exchange aims to address sensitive and highly visible contemporary topics such as colonialism, anti-colonialism, gender, materiality, food sovereignty, knowledge transmission, Indigenous cultural survival, sustainability, Indigenous resistance, animality, maintenance activities, the ethics of care, and collaborative practices with female representatives of the communities. It also seeks to provide opportunities for student exchanges and training in fieldwork, archival research, museum studies, and digital humanities (relational databases and digital retrieval). These are central themes for both the JP project and the CGM and GRASEG groups.Dr. Sallum and Dr. Montón Subías will exchange experiences on their individual project themes, exploring points of convergence and expanding research perspectives to develop the collaborative project. Over two years, in-person meetings will be held in São Paulo and Barcelona, involving academic meetings between them and their respective teams, field activities with the involved communities, and research in archives and museums. The following activities are also planned: (i) two seminars (in-person/online) in São Paulo and Barcelona, where the teams will present and discuss preliminary results; (ii) research on Brazilian collections in museums in Madrid and Alcalá de Henares, as well as in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville; (iii) fieldwork in São Paulo and Guam; (iv) publication of results in academic events and journals.The work of the first two years will result in the final project, which will be developed through the integration of both research lines, along with proposals from representatives of the partner communities. The meetings over the biennium will define thematic axes and ethical guidelines, aiming for innovative results, the training of new researchers, scientific production, and the internationalization of scientific dialogue. The results of the exchange will contribute to the proposal of a binational historical archaeology project in the medium and long term, focusing on gender, sustainability, materiality, food sovereignty, and colonialism. The submission of the proposal to FAPESP is expected by the end of 2027, including the definition of repositories, data usage, and result-sharing. The aim is to formalize an agreement and collaboration between UNIFESP and UPF, encompassing researcher and student exchanges at both undergraduate and graduate levels. These initiatives seek to create and strengthen lasting interdisciplinary collaborations. (AU)