Museums without a Past

Abstract

The myth of origin of each nation is a shifting cultural value, associated with a nation's ethos and sense of identity, and is contingent upon one's experience in the world. As museums have come to assume a crucial role in the building of the institutionalized notion of the past that is present in national identities, they have become privileged sites for investigation. This article examines the construction of myths of origin in 19th-century Brazilian museums and argues that the building of the Brazilian nation involved the construction of a historical sense strongly based on a future-oriented narrative of time. It focuses on the struggles for representation within the nation, as well as in some long-term processes and structures, which involve a dialogue between nations.