Terra garbosa, cercada de morros para se enfeitar: a cidade de Morrinhos imaginada pela história pública local (1968-2023)

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze the work of local public historians in the city of Morrinhos and how these authors influenced the social imagination of the municipality between 1968 and 2023. Over this period, various intellectuals produced books and texts about local history. Not all these authors had specific training in history or worked as professional historians. The thesis analyzes these writers from the field of public history, understanding it as a typology that allows for a series of reflections on the relationship between history and the public. This public is understood not only as a consumer of history but also as a producer of this history. The research argues that it is necessary to understand these intellectuals as local public historians and not just as memorialists, to promote greater dialogue between academia and the public. The epithet of memorialists is not sufficient to understand the various dimensions of the work of local writers. In this context, it is recognized that local public historians have their own genre and style, distinct from those adopted in academic historiography, but guided by a method and dialogue with documentary sources. The methodological and narrative choices of local public historians ended up solidifying the representation of a city guided by cultured political leaders concerned with the development of the municipality, oriented towards progress, and standing out as a center of education and culture in the state, to the point of being known as the Athens of Goiás. By crossing the accounts of these local public historians with academic research, it is observed that these representations ended up neglecting the social tensions and conflicts inherent in the city's development. Moreover, the narrative of local public historians does not include all sectors of the population that do not fit into the history of prominent figures. These authors participate in a circulation network, where not only works but also the ideas circulate through the city of Morrinhos. Institutions such as the Dramatic and Literary Society of Morrinhos and the Morrinhense Academy of Letters promote events and publish periodicals based on the ideas and work of local public historians, influencing a project conducted by the state government that reached a significant portion of Morrinhos' inhabitants. Thus, the research path allows revisiting the historiography produced outside university walls from a new perspective.