New perspectives on the industrial railway heritage: culture and society in the Village of Paranapiacaba (1946-1981)

• Grant number: 21/08597-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal researcher: Eduardo Romero de Oliveira
• Grantee: Pedro Henrique Victorasso
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims at reconstituting the social memory of Village of Paranapiacaba's residents, in order to contribute to a wider view of this historical valued cultural heritage, which is preserved in federal, state and municipal spheres. We start from the hypothesis that there is no clear coincidence between the current social memory and the preserved railway heritage. The question is: can the current recognizing practices of industrial railway heritage manage to preserve social elements that are already renowned? In this way, we intend to recover Village of Paranapiacaba's residents' and ex-residents' memories from the years 1946-1981. This time frame indicates the end of the concession of the railway to The San Paulo (Brazilian) Railway Company Ltd., also known as SPR or "The English One", which, in 1946, was expropriated by the Brazilian government and, soon after, named as Santos Jundiaí Railway (EFSJ, in Portuguese). The year of 1981 refers to the total deactivation of the Funicular System, which resulted in retirements, dismissals, and, therefore, a migration of the workers to nearby towns. We understand that this transition period of an English management model to the Brazilian administration brought some changes in the local population's sociability. In order to verify these issues, interviews with the residents and ex-residents who experienced the studied period of time will be held, according to the Oral History methodology. The process of the village's preservation, the Santo Andre's Museum's collection and railway workers' families' particular heritage will also be considered as historical sources. In this sense, our research proposal seeks to contribute to a wider view of this historical and cultural heritage, approaching aspects of leisure and religiosity of the people at that time, from an analysis of intangible culture. (AU)