Lusophone Monumental Museum: intersecting ‘Africa’ and ‘Nation’ in identity discourses

The monumental museums that this thesis is concerned with are the ones with an acknowledged role in representing the nation, meaning that they take an important part in creating and mobilising specific national identity discourses. They are also institutions that in the 21st century face pressures to account for demands of social justice. This thesis argues that there are diverse forms of monumentality which are consequences of the struggles for representation and participation in the social arena, here understood as hegemony and counter-hegemony. In order to conceptualise the monumental Lusophone museum, this thesis proposes a case studies approach dwelling on three specific museums – the National Historical Museum (Rio de Janeiro), the Afro Brazil Museum (São Paulo) and the National Ethnology Museum (Lisbon). Based on a constructivist perspective on identity: firstly, I present the ways in which these museums are monumental; secondly, I examine how they employ ideas of Africa and nation in their long-term exhibitions. The aim of such an investigation is twofold: to document the current exhibition practices in the Lusophone world, while reflecting on the consequences of their discursive production. By doing so, this thesis is not only contributing to the fields of museum and cultural studies - accounting for a geographical area generally neglected in the international literature in the fields, but also engaging in a productive dialogue that aims to contribute to the museums’ own summative evaluation of their exhibitions

Interwoven migration narratives: identity and social representations in the Lusophone world

First published online: 17 Oct 2016This article provides an exploratory analysis of the life narratives of migrants in the Portuguese-speaking world. By interweaving the life experiences of eight participants in three thematic clusters – ‘shared past’, language and sense of community – we propose a critique of the deep-seated idea of the Lusophone space as a community constructed by the harmonious conviviality of different countries and people. Drawing on contributions from cultural studies, social psychology, anthropology and sociology, we first aim to give voice to the human subjects who embark on migrations and then to understand how the engendered process of identity construction is framed by their social world, simultaneously reframing it. Thus, we aim at shedding light on the ways in which aspects of the political discourses on Lusophony are used (and are instrumental) to the migrants’ identity narrative (re)construction.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia: [Grant Number PTDC/CCI-COM/105100/2008]

Reconfigurações do lusotropicalismo em museus monumentais de países de língua portuguesa

This article aims to discuss current monumental museum discourses of national identity in the Lusophone world, particularly in Brazil and Portugal. It proposes (re)formulating modes of classifying museums by focusing on their institutional characteristics and long-term exhibitions. The museum model proposed is neither definitive nor fixed, but rather a hermeneutical exercise that aims to disentangle the changes and accommodations in national identity discourses in museum exhibitions. Thus, this article puts forward the idea that while museums are ever-evolving institutions capable of adapting to the times, reinventing themselves and contributing to the (re)creation of societies, they also maintain performances and discourses that reinforce power relations in national representation. Ultimately, museums are always negotiating with hegemonic representations and national discourses. The continuously changing nature of museums in question has been studied from a diverse range of perspectives and has led to different modes of interpretation of their intricate characteristics. However, in both countries, the critical review of Lusotropicalism culturally, socially and politically has, as an analysis of the colonial legacies of museums and their exhibitions, not been explored in depth. Therefore, this article endeavors to propose monumentality types in three Lusophone museums by firstly articulating the literature review of Lusotropicalism and Museum Studies, and then reporting part of the ethnographic research conducted in 2015.Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir os discursos da identidade nacional dos museus monumentais contemporâneos em países de língua portuguesa, mais precisamente no Brasil e em Portugal. Para tanto, propõe-se a (re)formular os modos de classificação dos museus com enfoque nas características institucionais dos museus e das exposições de longa duração. Adverte-se que a classificação de museus proposta neste artigo não é definitiva nem fixa. Trata-se, antes, de um exercício hermenêutico que visa deslindar as mudanças e acomodações nos discursos de identidade nacional presentes em diversas esferas das instituições museológicas. Assim, sustenta-se a ideia de que apesar de os museus serem instituições em constante evolução, capazes de se adaptar aos novos tempos, reinventar, e contribuir para a (re)criação das sociedades, eles também mantêm performances e discursos que reforçam as relações de poder nas representações nacionais. Fundamentalmente, os museus estão sempre negociando com representações e discursos nacionais hegemônicos. A natureza em constante transformação dos museus foi estudada a partir de uma ampla gama de perspectivas resultando em diferentes modos de interpretação e interrelação das suas complexas características. No entanto, em ambos os países, a revisão crítica dos aspectos culturais, sociais e políticos do lusotropicalismo não tem sido explorada em profundidade como um recorte de análise dos legados coloniais dos museus e suas exposições. Assim, propõem-se tipos de monumentalidade em três museus de língua portuguesa, primeiro articulando a revisão da literatura sobre lusotropicalismo e Museologia Crítica, para depois relatar parte da investigação etnográfica realizada em 2015

Lusophone Monumental Museum: intersecting ‘Africa’ and ‘Nation’ in identity discourses

The monumental museums that this thesis is concerned with are the ones with an acknowledged role in representing the nation, meaning that they take an important part in creating and mobilising specific national identity discourses. They are also institutions that in the 21st century face pressures to account for demands of social justice. This thesis argues that there are diverse forms of monumentality which are consequences of the struggles for representation and participation in the social arena, here understood as hegemony and counter-hegemony. In order to conceptualise the monumental Lusophone museum, this thesis proposes a case studies approach dwelling on three specific museums – the National Historical Museum (Rio de Janeiro), the Afro Brazil Museum (São Paulo) and the National Ethnology Museum (Lisbon). Based on a constructivist perspective on identity: firstly, I present the ways in which these museums are monumental; secondly, I examine how they employ ideas of Africa and nation in their long-term exhibitions. The aim of such an investigation is twofold: to document the current exhibition practices in the Lusophone world, while reflecting on the consequences of their discursive production. By doing so, this thesis is not only contributing to the fields of museum and cultural studies - accounting for a geographical area generally neglected in the international literature in the fields, but also engaging in a productive dialogue that aims to contribute to the museums’ own summative evaluation of their exhibitions