Três momentos de uma peça pública: o caráter educativo da escrita de Humberto de Campos (1912-1934)

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the educational character of Humberto de Campos’ Writing (1886-1934). The span of time comprehends the period from 1912 to 1934, time that covers Humberto de Campos’ arrival in Federal capital until the year of his death. This span of time also comprehends the moment when he is evolved and established in the national scenario as a journalist, a writer, and a politician. In this study, it is argued that such a man was a well-known intellectual person in the national circuit, becoming, especially, in the early of 1930s, an opinion former. His ideas were, in general, widespread in society, and, especially, in the field of education. From this point, the research investigated the actions developed by that individual in the educational field. The study was developed by using as sources newspapers, and magazines, documents found in files, the literature, and the author’s memories. These sources are documents that show the traces of a life, a time and a space which indicate, each in its own way, the discoveries, and the findings from the past. In this sense, a question has been sought on the meaning of that individual’s performance in the intellectual, literacy, political and educational field. The research was started with the purpose to understand why the Education Department from Distrito Federal bought the book Memories to distribute to public school students. It was then realized, there was an educational bias in the book and such characteristic permeated that writer’s the body of work, mainly, the texts from the early of 1930s. in addition to the book Memories, the view was also taken to other writings by that author. A group of articles published in the press, approached several subjects from the everyday life in the country and they were dealt with the most varied themes: school and teachers, students and teaching methods, illiteracy, the issue of black race in Brazil, among others. Humberto de Campos was also a federal inspector of secondary education and invested in the production of a book for kids. Thus, through this study, it was possible to observe that the educational actions developed by that individual were linked to certain aspects that connect him to a broader educational process in the heart of the Brazilian society in the time mentioned.