Fleas, mice, ships and plague victims international controversy over bubonic plague and its influence in Brazil (1894-1904)

• Grant number: 14/04657-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: October 01, 2014
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Science
• Principal Investigator: Márcia Regina Barros da Silva
• Grantee: Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva
• Supervisor: Dominique Pestre
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), France
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/02255-6 - "The rats' ball": the sociotechnical construction of the bubonic plague in Rio de janeiro (1897-1906), BP.MS

Abstract

The Master research, which this project is linked to, has as its central objective the analysis of the controversy over the transmission of bubonic plague and the means to combat it in Brazil, between 1897 and 1904. On one side, there were defenders of transmission by rat flea and of the need to hunt these animals; on the other side, supporters of transmission by contaminated objects and people, who also defended disinfection, isolation of infected and adoption of quarantine measures on suspect ships. During the research, it was noted that most of the arguments used by both sides in debate was related to works of foreign scientists whose theme was transmission of plague and means to combat it. Their articles, however, cannot be found in Brazil or virtually on web. Thus, the present project aims to understand the international controversy over the bubonic plague, in order to measure its influence on Brazilian debate. The time frame lies within the period of plague bacillus identification, from 1894 to 1904, when Brazilian government adopted the hunt mice, ending the controversy in the country.The project will use foreign scientific articles as sources that have given dynamism to the controversy. The methodology is based on the principle of generalized symmetry, that is, the attempt to analyze the different arguments without anachronistic judgments and to follow networks of alliances established by scientists to strengthen their arguments. At the end, we will have on hand the main arguments of the parties involved in the controversy in order to understand how they have influenced the debate in Brazil. (AU)