Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 294-330). Also available on the Internet.

Submitted by Caroline Falcao (caroline.rfalcao@ufpe.br) on 2017-06-14T19:09:00Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) 2012-dissertacao-NeilaPontes.pdf: 1915279 bytes, checksum: 75effb06324a79c7509cea55921be569 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-14T19:09:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) 2012-dissertacao-NeilaPontes.pdf: 1915279 bytes, checksum: 75effb06324a79c7509cea55921be569 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Os museus são instituições culturais que exibem formas de interpretação das culturas, definem e atribuem valores, de forma mais ou menos consciente, portanto, comunicando significados e podendo constituir-se assim como objeto de estudo privilegiado sobre a aplicação das teorias culturais. São instituições que tem por finalidade comunicar (em alguns casos), negociar e preservar os aspectos culturais considerados importantes em determinado contexto social. Este ensaio antropológico visa apresentar os resultados obtidos na pesquisa que teve por objetivo investigar o processo de construção do discurso museológico bem como analisar a narrativa expográfica atualmente em exibição no Museu do Homem do Nordeste (Recife -PE) . Considerando os paradigmas propostos pela antropologia interpretativa que tem como foco uma descrição densa na busca de significados possíveis e empreendendo as ações recomendadas por Igor Kopytoff para realização da análise biográfica deste museu, busquei observar as invisibilidades de sua construção discursiva realizando assim um estudo que se constitui como uma antropologia dos museus. Assim desejo contribuir para o debate acerca das atuais representações da identidade regional nordestina e do papel dos museus tradicionais na construção dessas identidades. / Museums are cultural institutions that participate in the process of interpreting cultures, defining and assigning value in a more or less conscious form, therefore making them able to communicate meaning while occupying the status of a privileged object of study for the construction and use of cultural theories. At the same time, their main institutional aim is to communicate (in some cases), negotiate and preserve certain cultural elements that are considered important within a given social context. The present anthropological essay aims at presenting the results obtained during fieldwork at the Museu do Homem do Nordeste (Recife – PE), focused on investigating the process of the construction of the museum’s discourse as well as analyzing the narrative of the exhibit currently on display. In order to produce a study that could be considered an Anthropology of Museums, the author focused on observing the invisible aspects of the museum’s discourse by taking into consideration the paradigms proposed by interpretive Anthropology and its dense description as a form of uncovering possible meanings while following the steps recommended by Igor Kopytoff in order to develop the biographic analysis of the institution. These efforts intend to shed new light on the debates about the construction of Northeastern regional identity representation and the social function of traditional museums within such processes.

This thesis is a research design that will serve as a baseline for further research and as a more inclusive interpretation at the Judah P. Benjamin Memorial at the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park in Ellenton, Florida. It reviews the history and archaeology of Robert Gamble's nineteenth-century enslaved labor-worked sugar plantation, focusing on how the demands of this capitalistic enterprise were expressed in the plantation's culture and on the landscape. This thesis reviews the literature on the archaeology of slavery in the United States and the Caribbean to provide a critical lens through which new directions in research might be seen and conceived. At the same time, it reviews the archaeological and historical resources associated with the plantation. The thesis is motivated by the following main research question: What was the nature of slavery on the Gamble Plantation? Subsidiary questions include the following: How was slavery evident in the plantation landscape? What were the day-to-day lifeways and activities of the enslaved labor force on the Gamble Plantation? While direct evidence of slave life at the Gamble Plantation might be scant, through a consideration of the literature we can infer how slave activity might be reflected in the archaeological record. It offers research methods to assist in obtaining answers to how is this plantation's landscape built which might illustrate slavery activity. The thesis also proceeds from the assumption that Gamble Plantation's history can be made more complete and relevant to park visitors. Public presentation is critically examined and stakeholders are identified. It concludes with suggestions on how can a more comprehensive and inclusive history can be told.