How was born and which is the Capital of Technology? An analysis of the discourses of the press about the existing technologies in São Carlos, by the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th

• Grant number: 14/06402-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2014
• End date: May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Félix Piovezani Filho
• Grantee: Camila Serena Esteves
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

We can hear and read today, more or less repeatedly, statements that the city of São Carlos, located 230 kilometers from the capital of the state of São Paulo, is the "Brazilian Capital of Technology". Emblematic, yet unsurprisingly, the syntagma "Capital of Technology" can be found in one of the main tabs of the municipal government's website, but it is also frequently heard from the mouths of the, a bit vainglorious, locals, who discuss the claimed technological vanguard of the city, which is due to, among others factors, the implantation of the railway company, the early arrival of electricity (in 1884 and 1890 respectively), its universities, the expressive number of masters and doctors in the city or the more recent creation of its Eco-technological park. The project aims to describe and interpret the texts produced by the first printed newspapers of São Carlos - namely "A Tribuna de São Carlos", whose origin dates from 1876, and "Correio de São Carlos", its start of circulation dating from 1898 -, in which are found news and comments about the arrival of such technological innovations to the city, about their developments, and even emergence in São Carlos. Based on the Discourse Analysis, derived from the works of Michel Pêcheux and his group, we intend to more precisely identify and understand the speeches produced and/or reproduced by the recently created press at that time, when it came to announcing the presence of new technology, focusing mainly on the promotion and opinions about those concerning the transmission of human voice. (AU)