Civismo, patriotismo e catolicismo no Brasil:

Abstract

In this text, we analyze school practices developed around civic spirit, patriotism, and Catholicism in Brazilian schools, particularly in the Gymnasio Mineiro de Uberlândia in Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the 1930s to 1950s. Our method of analysis is mainly based on the ideas of Souza (1998), Bencostta (2001), and Silva (2009). Sources included manuscripts, printed materials, iconography, and testimony of former students, and school teachers. The results of the study indicate that the school under study, as well as those in its proximity, repeatedly and consistently held an educational dimension of a civic and patriotic character, in collaboration with the Catholic schools, that went beyond the functions of knowledge acquisition and preparation for work. In fact, in the memory of the subjects that took part in the school institution in the period covered by the investigation, the civic-patriotic parades are very present and assume a central place in relation to other important school experiences.