As casas de farinha do povoado Santo Antonio em Caxias-MA: espaços de saberes e memória

Abstract

This dissertation examines the flour mills of the Santo Antônio village, located in the municipality of Caxias, in the state of Maranhão. The study investigates these spaces and the daily lives of workers in the flour culture, seeking to identify physical elements, symbolic and oral characteristics that constitute the production of knowledge and expertise related to the “art of making flour.” Interest in these elements arises both from personal motivations—stemming from childhood experiences in rural areas—and professional concerns, in the search for pedagogical strategies that bring history teaching closer to students’ reality. The research analyzes the educational potential of the knowledge held by individuals involved in flour production and proposes the creation of an Educational Product (EP), materialized in an elective course entitled "Flour Mills Are Also Schools." The contents covered in this course are related to the traditional knowledge of these workplaces, being structured according to the theoretical principles of the new high school curriculum, ensuring its objectives and outcomes align with this teaching modality. The methodological procedures employed include a bibliographic survey, visits to flour mills, observation of work practices, and the administration of questionnaires to flour mill workers and first-year students at Thales Ribeiro Gonçalves School, Annex IV. The theoretical framework draws upon authors such as Pierre Bourdieu (2008), Jörn Rüsen (2006), Câmara Cascudo (2007), Luis Fernando Cerri (2011), Maria Auxiliadora Schmidt (2006), Paulo Freire (2002), Pierre Nora (2012), Ronaldo Vainfas (2007), Agnes Heller (1993), among others.