Sources for the History of School Geography in the province of Sao Paulo: laws, books, curricula and programs

• Grant number: 25/03866-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Manoel Fernandes de Sousa Neto
• Grantee: José Filipe Marques Camara
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to identify and catalog documents such as textbooks, legislation, periodicals, curricula, and teaching programs related to the teaching of Geography in the province of Sao Paulo between the 19th century and the 1930s. Our proposal is linked to the Network Project "Fontes para a Historia da Geografia Escolar: leis, livros didaticos, curriculos e programas das provincias do Brasil", funded by "Edital 40/22", and aims to serve as an extension of this research in Sao Paulo. This national project is dedicated to creating a public digital archive of sources for the History of School Geography. The present study is situated within the growing research in this field over the past decades and challenges the notion of a homogeneous School Geography in Brazil during the 19th century, traditionally associated with "Colegio Pedro II" as a reference model. The proposal is based on the theoretical-methodological understanding that school subjects have had-and continue to have-purposes that are sometimes contradictory, shaped by a complex system of ideals and interests specific to different social actors in a given time and space. Documentary sources, in turn, provide the best means to understand these purposes. Expected outcomes include fostering scientific research in the field of the History of School Geography in Brazil, particularly in Sao Paulo, contributing to a better understanding of the role that Geography education played in the past, as well as its repercussions and contemporary forms. (AU)