Abstract

TENTI, María Mercedes. Cultural studies, Historiography and the subaltern sectors. Trab. soc. [online]. 2012, n.18, pp.317-329. ISSN 1514-6871.

The purpose of this work is to research the relationship between Cultural Studies and Historiography, especially the ways in which the latter approaches the problem of the subaltern sectors. A wide band of social actors do not become visible in most historiographical works, contributing to ratify preconceived images of traditional positions. Currents emerging in last decades emphasize these new approaches. The aproaches of a 'new history' are nourished of interdisciplinary contributions. At the end of last century, new actors - that were not visible in the field of historiográphy - began to emerge 'from below', highlighting underlying cultural relativism in historical accounts. Faced with the emergence of these areas of interest, the main problem faced by historians are sources, on the one hand, and methodology, for other one. Regarding the first, new interpretations and questioning the official documentation can bring forth the word of the subaltern. While we should not lose sight that these documents do not contain the direct voice of the protagonists-mediated clerk-which can be explained within the text, in context. The oral testimony of the actors and of his environment constitutes also an important contribution to discover the past of those that do not appear in the official records. The oral tradition began to occupy a relevant space at the moment of uncovering the past of of groups that do not have built-in the tradition of the written culture. The photographic and audio-visual records, the letters of popular song, the novels and the cinematograph, offer other sources that us allow to bring over to the subalternity, across new methodologies contributed by the interdisciplinary work.

Keywords : Subaltern subjet; Cultural studies; Historiography; Social actors; Subaltern study.

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