O ensino da história local em perspectiva: o caso da igreja matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceição e o antigo Trapiche

Abstract

The present research aims to investigate the possibilities for teaching local history using the historical-cultural heritage of Conceição da Barra, a municipality located in the extreme north of the State of Espírito Santo. To this end, two material cultural heritages stand out: the Trapiche, currently Casa da Cultura Hermógenes Lima da Fonseca, and the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceição, both located in the city center. They are very representative architectural constructions in the locality, dating back, respectively, to the 18th and 19th centuries, according to records, and constitute spaces for historical learning. This work dialogues with the epistemological assumptions of Historical Education, by anchoring itself in the concepts of historical consciousness, by Jorn Rusen (2001), and historical literacy, proposed by the English historian Peter Lee (2006). Reflecting on local heritage assets as a source and document, it uses the theoretical contributions of the French historian Marc Bloch (2001) and the German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1985). The research approach is qualitative, bibliographic and documentary, using the methodology of historical ethnography, present in the work of Giovanni Levi (2000) and Natalie Davis (1987), which allows combining the analysis of historical sources with practices and cultural meanings inscribed in the present. When we seek to think about local historical-cultural heritage as starting points for historical learning, it is concluded that this practice constitutes an excellent pedagogical strategy for working with local history, thus contributing to the historical formation of students, by also valuing the trajectory of the place where they live, the places of memory and the historical subjects made invisible in the official historical narrative. In this way, students attribute meanings to these spaces and can propose alternatives with a view to preserving heritage, also valuing the history of their location.