Entre vozes e silêncios: contribuições de Maria Christina Russi da Matta Machado para a historiografia do cangaço.

Abstract

This study analyzes the work of historian Maria Christina Russi da Matta Machado, focusing on her doctoral thesis Aspects of the Cangaço Phenomenon in Northeastern Brazil, written in the 1960s and largely unrecognized within academic circles. The research aims to recover this marginalized author and highlight her contributions to cangaço studies by positioning her work within the field of critical historiography. The study explores how historical representations of cangaço were constructed and emphasizes the methodological ruptures proposed by Matta Machado, especially her adoption of oral history and the attentive listening to marginalized voices as interpretative tools. The methodology is qualitative, based on the analysis of her thesis as the main source and on the historiography of cangaço as an object of critique and interpretation. The theoretical framework is composed of authors who legitimize oral history as a methodology and offer reflections on historiography from the margins. Paul Thompson (1992) and Alessandro Portelli (2013) provide insights into memory, listening, and subjectivity, supporting the analysis of Matta Machado's methodological approach. Joan Scott (1995) is referenced to address gender barriers in academia, contributing to the understanding of the institutional silencing she experienced. The study also considers Luiz Bernardo Pericás’s (2019) article and audiovisual materials available on digital platforms, which reinforce the invisibility surrounding her work. Matta Machado’s thesis is understood not only as a record of cangaço but as an expression of the political, methodological, and epistemological disputes of her time. This research seeks to restore her place in contemporary historiographical debates, recognizing her perspective as critical, sensitive, and committed to the social complexity of the Brazilian backlands.