O foco dessa dissertação é a Exposição Histórica do Brasil organizada no interior da Exposição do Mundo Português, em Lisboa, no ano de 1940, quando Oliveira Salazar decidiu comemorar os centenários da fundação de Portugal (1139) e o da Restauração (1640). A Exposição brasileira foi orientada e executada sob a direção de Gustavo Barroso, enviado a Portugal como um dos delegados do Brasil à Exposição do Mundo Português e como Diretor do Museu Histórico Nacional. Ao propor a Exposição Histórica do Brasil como tema, pretendeu-se compreendê-la como expressão de uma forma específica de reconstituir o passado do Brasil, tentando inseri-la no contexto cultural e político do período, contribuindo para o entendimento do modo pelo qual se configurou, na época, uma escrita da História do Brasil, simultaneamente, incrustada no Museu Histórico Nacional e no espaço dos eventos ocorridos em Portugal. / The focus of this essay is the Historical Exposition of Brazil organized inside the Exhibition of the Portuguese World, in Lisbon, in 1940, when Oliveira Salazar decided to celebrate the centenary of Portugal foundation (1139) and of the Restoration (1640). The Brazilian Exposition was guided and carried out by the lead of Gustavo Barroso, who was sent to Portugal as one of the Brazilian representatives in the Exhibition of the Portuguese World and as the Curator of the National Historical Museum. In proposing the Historical Exposition of Brazil as a theme, the intention was to understand it as an expression of a specific way of reconstituting the past of Brazil, trying to insert it in the political and cultural context of the time, contributing to the understanding of how it configured, at the time, a writing of the History of Brazil, simultaneously, incrusted in the National Historical Museum and in the area where the events took place in Portugal.

O foco dessa dissertação é a Exposição Histórica do Brasil organizada no interior da Exposição do Mundo Português, em Lisboa, no ano de 1940, quando Oliveira Salazar decidiu comemorar os centenários da fundação de Portugal (1139) e o da Restauração (1640). A Exposição brasileira foi orientada e executada sob a direção de Gustavo Barroso, enviado a Portugal como um dos delegados do Brasil à Exposição do Mundo Português e como Diretor do Museu Histórico Nacional. Ao propor a Exposição Histórica do Brasil como tema, pretendeu-se compreendê-la como expressão de uma forma específica de reconstituir o passado do Brasil, tentando inseri-la no contexto cultural e político do período, contribuindo para o entendimento do modo pelo qual se configurou, na época, uma escrita da História do Brasil, simultaneamente, incrustada no Museu Histórico Nacional e no espaço dos eventos ocorridos em Portugal. / The focus of this essay is the Historical Exposition of Brazil organized inside the Exhibition of the Portuguese World, in Lisbon, in 1940, when Oliveira Salazar decided to celebrate the centenary of Portugal foundation (1139) and of the Restoration (1640). The Brazilian Exposition was guided and carried out by the lead of Gustavo Barroso, who was sent to Portugal as one of the Brazilian representatives in the Exhibition of the Portuguese World and as the Curator of the National Historical Museum. In proposing the Historical Exposition of Brazil as a theme, the intention was to understand it as an expression of a specific way of reconstituting the past of Brazil, trying to insert it in the political and cultural context of the time, contributing to the understanding of how it configured, at the time, a writing of the History of Brazil, simultaneously, incrusted in the National Historical Museum and in the area where the events took place in Portugal.

This thesis is a report concerning the practical aspects on exhibition techniques. During an internship at the National History Museum in Stockholm I participated in the work with their new, temporary exhibition Gränslöst - en global utställning på Historiska museet [Boundless - a global voyage of discovery at the National Historical Museum]. I was part of a small project team of museum staff. The purpose of this exhibition was to show how cultures have met and influenced each other throughout history. The National Historical Museum has in its collections and exhibitions several examples of objects that has been imported from or inspired by other cultural areas. The primary goal was to give the visitors a new perspective, to show that these “Swedish” objects have a long history of trading and cultural exchange. Additionally, Gränslöst is an attempt to draw the visitors into the permanent exhibitions; it is not an independent production and shares some characteristics with so- called “Hot spot” exhibitions. My ambition is to describe the planning, implementation and delivery of the exhibition and highlight problems and solutions that arise during that process.

The thesis concerns public debate on the public activities of The Swedish History Museum (Historiska museet) in Stockholm between the years 1992 and 2011. Moreover, the thesis contribute with knowledge on how basic didactic questions regarding a single national museum has been answered in the public debate over time. Standpoints on what should be exhibited, how this should be done, to/with whom the mediation of history should be addressed/communicated and, what mission in society The Swedish History Museum’s is considered to be, is summed up in the concept of “exhibition ideal”. The research concerns four public debates; the debate about the exhibition The Swedish History (Den Svenska Historien), the debate about Kristian Berg, the debate about the free entry reform and, a less extensive debate about the exhibition History of Sweden (Sveriges Historia). A further aim of the dissertation is to put the publicly expressed positions on The Swedish History Museum in a wider historical-cultural context. Also, the study is related to other museums and other history communicating arenas. The debates coincides in time with challenges for the museum sector to deal with new perspectives in museology and cultural heritage research. The emergence of a multi-cultural society and the questioning of grand narratives are mentioned as examples. The emergence and strengthening of a broader history didactic discipline in Sweden, where a basic starting point is that the story is communicated in several different arenas with their own competencies, are also brought into the analysis. Historians and archaeologists tend to become silent in the recent debates about The Swedish History Museum’s public activities as the debates are less focused on content. The debates tends to be more “museum internal”, even in cases where there is opportunity to debate specific historical and archaeological content in the exhibitions. It appears, nevertheless, that the overall conflict around the public museum activities has reached the public spotlight through newspapers, radio and TV. Alongside with visits to the museum public debate are assumed to contribute to citizens’ own view of what museums should exhibit, how this should be done, to/with whom the mediation of history should be addressed/communicated and what the museum’s mission in society is.