A orality and its importance for the preservation and perpetuation of collective memory

Abstract

Objective: To discuss orality as a central element for the preservation and perpetuation of collective memory, analyzing its relationship with forgetting and with informational processes in the field of Information Science, especially within memory institutions.

Methods: This is a qualitative, theoretical-bibliographical study based on classical and contemporary works in Information Science, memory studies and orality, neuroscience and related areas. Authors such as Halbwachs, Ricoeur, Assmann, Huyssen, Buckland, González de Gomes, Dodebei, Dias, Ong and Zumthor, among others, were mobilized to articulate interdisciplinary perspectives on information, memory, forgetting and intangible cultural heritage.

Results: The study shows that orality goes beyond the simple dimension of speech, configuring itself as a communicational and cultural system that produces, transmits and resignifies individual and collective knowledge. It demonstrates that, in Information Science, orality can be understood simultaneously as a legitimate information source, object and process, in dialogue with practices of organization, preservation and mediation of information in archives, libraries, museums and documentation centers. The analysis also indicates that memory and forgetting form a dialectical binomial, in which decisions about recording, keeping, providing access, or silencing have a direct impact on the construction of collective memory and on the visibility of historically marginalized groups.

Conclusions: It is concluded that recognizing orality as informational heritage and as a constitutive memory is fundamental to strengthening preservation and cultural mediation policies and practices within memory institutions. The systematic incorporation of oral records into documentary collection contributes to pluralizing narratives, filling historical gaps and expanding the representativeness of subjects and communities, especially in contexts marked by strong cultural diversity and inequalities in access to writing, such as the Brazilian reality.