Between Memories and Paths: The CEJA Prof. Felipe Guerra Building as an Experience and
Pedagogical Device in History Education
History education; Youth and adult education; school heritage; public memory; lived space.
This dissertation investigates the potential of utilizing the building that houses the Centro de
Ensino de Jovens e Adultos Professor Felipe Guerra (CEJA) in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte,
as both a historical source and a pedagogical tool in history education. Known as "Vila
Cincinato," the building was originally constructed as a private residence but was later
incorporated into state property and served as the official governor's residence. Subsequently,
the building housed the Popular Revolutionary Committee during the 1935 communist
uprising and the State Department of Education; since the 1970s, it has served as a facility
for youth and adult education. It is currently part of the Centro de Ensino de Jovens e Adultos
Professor Felipe Guerra. The research is guided by the following question: how can the uses,
perceptions, and narratives generated by the school community regarding this space
contribute to historical learning? The objective is to analyze the relationship between
heritage, memory, and the school experience, focusing on the active role of students whose
educational journeys are marked by interruptions, restarts, and varying forms of connection
to the school. The study combines bibliographic and archival research, the analysis of official
records and photographs, interviews, spatial analysis, and the creation of narratives by the
students. The theoretical discussion draws primarily on Henri Lefebvre’s concepts regarding
the social production of space, Michel de Certeau’s ideas on everyday uses and tactics of
appropriation, and Helder Viana’s work on urban artifacts and public memory. As a
pedagogical outcome, the study proposes the "CEJA Prof. Felipe Guerra Memory and
Experience Workbook," organized into units that bring together documents, recollections,
personal journeys, and competing memories. The aim is to foster a historical understanding
of the school building that goes beyond viewing it merely as a backdrop, recognizing it
instead as a lived space—one shaped by power relations and continuously imbued with new
meaning by the participants in youth and adult education.