Biography

Jacqueline S. Silva is a museologist and PhD candidate in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Évora. Her research focuses on the history of scientific institutions and the trajectory of their collections, the circulation of knowledge and museological practices, and the processes of scientific heritage preservation. She is a member of the staff at the Câmara Cascudo Museum (UFRN), where she works on the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of scientific and cultural collections. Her interests include the intersection between the history of science, museology, and science and technology policies, with a special focus on the role of university museums in the construction of regional identities and scientific education. She participates in projects to modernise museum infrastructure and digitise collections, with an emphasis on democratising access to scientific heritage.

Research fields

• History of science
• History of scientific institutions
• History of collections
• Circulation of scientific knowledge and practices

Selected publications

• Silva, Jacqueline Souza & Glaudson Freire de Albuquerque. “Contornando velhas dificuldades perante novas demandas: o Museu Câmara Cascudo da UFRN como estudo de caso,” Revista CPC 16 (2021): 112-143. [link] 🔓
• Silva, Jacqueline Souza, ““Os sábios da ciência” e a criação de um instituto científico no Rio Grande do Norte, Nordeste brasileiro (1950-1960),” in História Biográfica e Intelectual da Ciência e da Tecnologia: Atores, Ideias e Identidades, organised by Tiago Bradão, 281-302. Lisbon: Instituto de História Contemporânea, 2017. [link] 🔓
• Silva, Jacqueline Souza. “Instituto de antropologia: um espaço para ciência no Rio Grande do Norte (1960-1973).” Master’s in History Dissertation presented to the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, 2014. [link] 🔓

Main projects

• ‘De Instituto de Antropologia a Museu Câmara Cascudo – Trajetórias Científicas no Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil (1950-2010)’ [From the Institute of Anthropology to the Câmara Cascudo Museum – Scientific Trajectories in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (1950-2010)] — PhD thesis to be presented to the University of Évora, supervised by Maria de Fátima Nunes and Elisabete Pereira (IHC — University of Évora).
• Member of the project ‘Modernisation of the Infrastructure for the Preservation and Dissemination of the Collections of the Câmara Cascudo Museum’ — Coordinated by por Olivia Morais de Medeiros Neta (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte) and funded by the Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP, Brazil). 2025-2028
• Co-coordinator, with Claude Luiz Aguilar Santos, of the project ‘Exploring the Caves of Rio Grande do Norte: Conservation, Research, and Dissemination of Speleological Heritage at the Câmara Cascudo Museum/UFRN’ — Hosted by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and funded by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (Brazil). 2023-2027
• Coordinator of the project ‘Qualification of Conservation Processes for the Collections of the Câmara Cascudo Museum/UFRN’ —
• Hosted by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (Brazil). 2022-2025