Políticas de informação e memória no Colégio Pedro II: preservação e acesso ao patrimônio documental e seus paradoxos

Abstract

We start from the hypothesis that the design of information and memory policies can be an important parameter for the analysis of the preservation practices of documentary heritage that have been established, over the years, by Colégio Pedro II. It is inquired that all heritage, of cultural, historical, aesthetic, archaeological, ethnological, anthropological, scientific and documentary value is by nature a potential vehicle of information, dynamic and timeless, which carries meanings and emotions and puts it at all times in circulation the content of memory, it is believed, by conjecture, that the institutionalization of information and memory policies enhances the informational value of heritage and justifies preservation actions. Colégio Pedro II, a traditional institution of public education, founded in the Brazilian regency period, produced, throughout its historical trajectory of 182 years of existence, valuable documentary heritage that is interpreted in this study as a “place of memory”. The documentary heritage has an invaluable historical value for the institution and a high degree of relevance for historical research, as it measures the importance of this institution for the development of Brazilian education. The informational value of its heritage, as evidence and testimony, serves to reconstruct history and society to the extent that it also validates not only the historiographical discourse on the theme but also the symbolic capitals behind the constituent elements of the image and identity of the Institution. In the present investigation, the fragility of how issues related to the preservation of the memory of Colégio Pedro II are treated. The absence or insufficiency of assumptions, decisions and preservation actions is a challenge for the College to keep its assets preserved.