Nísia Floresta's conceptions about education: contributions to the study of Brazilian social thought in the 19th century

• Grant number: 23/16893-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Alexandro Henrique Paixão
• Grantee: Renata Souza de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Educação (FE). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nísia Floresta (1810, Brazil-1885, France) was a woman, an educator and a writer of great significance in defense of females' education in the 19th century. In a time when Brazilian women were confined to private life and subject to patriarchal authorities, the author stands out for her erudition, familiarity with the prevailing social thinking in Europe, and for publishing her progressive and republican views on female education in books and newspaper articles. According to Floresta, the progress of Brazilian society depended on women's education and their social roles, which would reflect on the education of all. In this regard, the work "Opúsculo Humanitário" (1853), selected for analysis in this project, focuses on concepts that defend this education, with the author attempting to convince her readers of its importance, drawing on her erudition and publication in different formats: book and newspapers. Therefore, the main objective of this project is to analyze the conceptions contained in the selected work regarding the education of Brazilians, especially girls and women, considering the female roles of mother as educator, workers, and teachers; our parallel objective will be to evaluate how these conceptions influenced Brazilian social reform thinking in the 19th century; to discuss and propose interpretations about potential readers. The project and the publication of its results are justified by bringing attention to Nísia Floresta's works on education, counteracting the erasure of female literary works, and paving the way for further research on women in literature, education, and the attainment of intellectual and scientific positions.