Natural and cultural heritage in the production of contemporary identities: a study of exhibitions in environmental conservation parks

• Grant number: 18/14308-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2019
• End date: March 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Museology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Cristina Oliveira Bruno
• Grantee: Isabela Soraia Backx Sanabria
• Host Institution: Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia (MAE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project proposes a comparative study among exhibitions organized in regions of environmental conservation parks of Brazil that deal with the historical relation between humans and nature. Understanding that the debate about the environmental crisis is one of the main themes by which individuals articulate the production of their cultural identities today, the research aims to analyze what is the discourse communicated by these exhibitions, pointing out the interests, contexts and powers involved. To achieve these objectives, the history and the contexts of creation and operation of these conservation areas will be analyzed, focusing on the study of their exhibitions and the discourses they produce with the articulation among artifacts and other expository elements, such as explanatory panels, images and lighting. Considering that the subjectivation of heritage references, such as those communicated in these exhibitions, is one of the main ways in which individuals produce their cultural identities, the objective is to better understand the current processes by which individuals give meaning to themselves and elaborate their visions of the world. (AU)