Nos toscos bancos: o lugar do escrito na Vila de Santo Antônio de Jacobina-BA no século XIX (1827-1860)

Abstract

This Thesis investigates how the spread of writing took place in Vila de Santo Antônio da Jacobina-Bahia, between 1827 and 1860, in the context of schooling, with a focus on teaching the Portuguese language in Brazil. It takes as theoretical guidelines the studies on the constitution of the Social History Linguistics of Brazil and the Social History of Written Culture, with the purpose of contributing to the project of reconstruction of the social history of Brazilian Portuguese (MATTOS E SILVA, 2004). In this sense, it presents as a methodological proposal based on a quantitative documentary research, whose corpora is comprised of correspondence issued by the Jacobina City Council, reports by judges and presidents of the Province of Bahia, attendance reports and maps drawn by teachers of the Village, Laws and Resolutions relating to public instruction, among others. Initially, we seek to present aspects of socio-history, which characterize that village, so that we can better understand the data raised regarding schooling, such as the process of territorial occupation, ethnic-demographic aspects and the settlement in the Jacobinas hinterland. Then, it describes the functioning of the public first-letter and Latin grammar classes existing in the Vila, at that time, which reflect aspects related to the teaching profession. From the analysis of nineteen attendance maps drawn by teachers, more specifically in the 1840s, iy is shown the profile of the subjects who had access to writing, in school contexts, regarding color / ethnicity, age and social condition, as well as the learning acquired in relation to the acquisition of reading, writing and grammatical elements. The methods and materials used are analyzed, showing the representations about the teaching process of the Portuguese language and the dimensions of an ideological and political nature underlying school textbooks. From what was possible to be unveiled, this study reveals the social and ethnic diversity of the subjects who had access to schooling in the Vila de Santo Antônio da Jacobina, in the first half of the 19th century, the ones who were able to learn how to read and write, even though often in unfavorable conditions.