Práticas de escrita e leitura por imigrantes e descendentes, da península itálica à Região Colonial Italiana do Rio Grande do Sul (1875 - 1920)

Abstract

This thesis investigates writing and reading practices among immigrants from the Italian Peninsula and their descendants in the Italian colonial region of Rio Grande do Sul (RCI/RS) during the period from 1875 to 1920. The study is part of the research line "History and Philosophy of Education" of the Graduate Program in Education at the University of Caxias do Sul (UCS). The year 1875 marks the beginning of immigrant settlement in the region, while the 1920s represent the end of the First Republic and a shift in the historical and educational configuration toward new specificities. The theoretical and methodological framework is based on Cultural History and the History of Education, with an emphasis on written culture, drawing on the contributions of Graff (1995), Mortatti (2000, 2004), Ferraro (2002, 2004, 2009, 2014), and especially the works of Chartier (1990, 1991a, 1991b, 2001a, 2001b), Castillo Gómez (2003a, 2003b), Castillo Gómez and Sáez (2016), and Magalhães (2001), as well as other scholars engaged with these topics. The main categories analyzed were writing and reading practices. Document analysis was the chosen methodology, with civil registry records' specifically the presence or absence of signatures?used to quantify part of the group under study. Other sources included newspapers, books, government immigration records, reports from school agents, interviews with descendants, among others. This thesis argues that from the initial settlement period to the 1920s, there was an increase in writing and reading practices, influenced by the expansion of colonies that later became municipalities, and by the increased access to schooling, through private, Italian, religious, and public initiatives, which helped provide the basics of literacy. With the establishment of municipalities, public schools were expanded. Additionally, throughout the period, newspapers and books in both Portuguese and Italian circulated, and parents submitted requests for school openings, better goods and services, indicating a growing demand for the use of writing and reading in daily life and work within the RCI. Religious practices, customs, and family habits also promoted the use, dissemination, and expansion of writing and reading. The research provided insight into some social and cultural practices of writing and reading within and beyond the school environment, showing that individuals used them in everyday life, countering the common belief that they were illiterate and/or uninterested in education. The results also highlight the history of women's writing and reading, which showed lower percentages than those of men. Among the many avenues for future research are the calligraphic analysis of signatures, detailed case studies of individuals, generational and gender-based investigations, and other sources that may still be explored to deepen our understanding of writing and reading among Italian immigrants and their descendants in the RCI. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]