Cultural practices and traditional black knowledge in Americana - SP

• Grant number: 20/11475-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning
• Principal Investigator: Joana D'Arc de Oliveira
• Grantee: Vitor Daniel Menck
• Host Institution: Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Carlos (IAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research proposal is linked to the Postdoctoral Project "Afro-brazilian Cultural Heritage: Urban Black Houses and Backyards as Spaces for Resistances ", which has been developed by our advisor in the Postdoctoral from the Institute of Architecture and Urbanism at USP - IAU / USP. The project has as the main objective to map urban black territories that emerged in the context of post-abolition in the state of São Paulo, as a form of resistance to urban legislation and urban projects that promoted the spatial segregation of the city's poor, notably of the black population. The presence of these subjects in the state of São Paulo was strongly linked to the slavery period and the displacements he imposed on black men and women. In the post-abolition period, migration was a constant in the daily lives of ex-slaves and was fostered by several motivations, among them the search for better living conditions and the desire to be close to family members. In the state of São Paulo, the presence of these subjects was a constant, both in the slavery and post-abolition periods, as suggested by the authors Maria Helena Machado, Robert Slenes, Hebert Klein, among others. To understand the territorial fixation of black men and women in the post-abolition period it is essential to consider the political context, economic, social, ideological and cultural, which marked the end of the 19th century and the 20th.It is also worth mentioning that in the last decades interest has grown, on the part of universities and research centers around the theme of black or African culture highlighting their knowledge, cultural practices, experiences, contributions in the field of architecture and urbanism, their confrontations and social demands. This stance, in addition to contribute to the preservation of this important Brazilian Cultural Heritage, comes corroborating for the implementation and development of cultural public policies, but also health, education, housing, sanitation, urban planning, among others, justifying the expansion of this research as a fundamental contribution to the planning and ordering of cities that include the diversity of their subjects and territories. Anchored in these prerogatives, we propose in this scientific initiation project the mapping and recording of cultural practices and traditional black knowledge carried out and preserved in black houses and backyards in the city of Americana-SP. Thus, from the concepts of race, culture and space, we aim to map, in continuous and participative dialogue with the holders of this knowledge, the stories, cultural practices and the ways in which these subjects take ownership of their living spaces and the city. To this end, we will share theoretical concepts and approaches around the consolidation of black protagonist throughout history in the period of slavery, as well as in the Post-Abolition, and around formulations of space, territory and Afro-Brazilian cultural heritage.