Who owns the universality? Heritage and Museum in light of Postcolonial theory.

• Autor(a) principal: Pimenta Bueno, Mariana
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Conjuntura Austral
• Texto Completo: https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/ConjunturaAustral/article/view/113893
• topic: Museum; Heritage; Universality; Eurocentrism; Museu; Patrimônio; Universalidade; Eurocentrismo

In face of the rising debate about museological repatriation and the European museums reluctance at the subject, this research has as a goal the critical analysis throughout Postcolonial Theory, and by document analysis the justification about an alleged patrimonial universalism, proclaimed by the Declaration on the importance and value of universal museums, released in 2002. Questioning this characteristic proposed by signatories’ museums, I wonder: would the conservation of heritage be a Western value? Therefore, the hypothesis worked here is that the document previously mentioned is an invocation for a Western colonial maintenance. Structured by three sections, this article presents concepts that are within the museum, as memoir and heritage, to comprehend how their meanings are intimately linked to Eurocentrism. Furthermore, recommended documents by UNESCO are used to explain how this universalistic heritage and museological norm is valid though these Western spaces, as well as analyzing heritage requests as a challenge for the International System. At last, the aim is not present a final answer for this agenda, but highlight and discuss, within the field of International Relations field, the importance of this debate.