Science and diplomacy in the origins of the Maison du Brésil at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (1920-1979)

• Grant number: 20/09986-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2021
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Science
• Principal Investigator: Silvia Fernanda de Mendonça Figueirôa
• Grantee: Luciana Vieira Souza da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Educação (FE). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/03004-6 - Science and diplomacy in the origins of the Maison du Brésil at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris (1920-1979), BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, Brazil and France established different scientific and cultural agreements and contacts, with emphasis on the actions of the Groupement des Universités et Grandes Écoles de France pour les relations avec l'Amérique Latine. In the 1930s, after the foundation of universities in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, French professors' missions were invited and financed to assisting in the organization of these teaching and research institutions, and to work for cultural propaganda abroad. In Second War times, there was a weakening of Brazil-France relations, which was resumed after the end of the conflicts, by establishing new agreements focused on culture, science, and technology. The objective of this project is to analyze the foundation process of the Maison du Brésil, a Brazilian residence located at the Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, which started in the 1920s and was completed in 1959, as well as the first twenty years of the house. It seeks, based on the historical study of the institution, to reconstruct the scientific networks provided by the international circulation of researchers and students, as a result of the science diplomacy of the period. Although the term "science diplomacy" is recent, the practice has been part of the history of international relations for some centuries. The transnational historical approach of the sciences has proved to be an important analytical tool for understanding how diplomatic policies participate in the process of knowledge circulation and in the building of transnational networks. The historical study of science diplomacy, present in the origins of the Maison du Brésil, can help us to understand, in a broad way, the scientific, cultural, and university relations established between Brazil and France between 1920 and 1979. (AU)