“WITH THE SEA IN THE MIDDLE”: SCHOOL PATRIMONIALIZATION IN PORTUGUESE-BRAZILIAN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This article seeks to reflect on the constitution of memory spaces in Portuguese-Brazilian educational institutions between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. We present examples of “places to remember” of school “remains” established in the Northeast region of Brazil and in Portugal, followed by some reflections on the challenges that are imposed on the educational heritage. There are school heritage practices that cross the ocean and many others specific to the uniqueness of each country’s history, dialoguing directly with educational institutions that establish the purposes of memory in the construction of the safeguarded and exposed past. On the one hand, in Portugal, museums and the works of school subjects themselves are to be highlighted; on the other, in the Northeast of Brazil, the number of memorials of the network of federal institutes grows, in addition to memory centers and projects linked to research groups in the area of History of Education. The study points to the need for a greater exchange of experiences, learning, mistakes, and successes when dealing with the school’s past, whether in international, national or local networks. The desired outcome is to enhance the debate about the place of the past and the present of the school in the construction of a more democratic and citizen society.