History and memory of the elites from institutions of higher education of São Paulo

• Grant number: 14/00028-5
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: July 01, 2014 - June 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Fundamentals of Education
• Principal researcher: Bruno Bontempi Júnior
• Grantee: Bruno Bontempi Júnior
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Educação (FE). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present research aims to inventory and interpret the meanings of speeches and images developed and cultivated by institutions of higher education of Sao Paulo that historically built the situation of the Brazilian political elites. These speeches will be related to the historical development of these institutions and to the social relations and interests of their agents, identified by mapping the positions and objective characteristics in the political and intellectual fields. The elites are minority social groups defined by the possession of power or as a product of a social or intellectual selection and, by studying them, it is possible to determine the places, mechanisms and principles of the access to power in different societies. Being recognized by their actions and relationships, their speeches are considered in this research expressions of their social characteristics, representations that make the social reality, the values, their beliefs, specialized knowledge and projects which are supported by the State. Among these projects it is found the creation and reform of the institutions of higher education, places of their education and dissemination. The methodology encompasses speech analysis, production of inventories and collective biography. (AU)