FOREWORD

In this issue no. 58, the Editorial Board’s activity involving the Revista Brasileira de História shall be initiated with the commitment of carrying on the work of preceding colleagues and, at the same time, facing eventual challenges.

As determined by the resolution of the General Assembly of Anpuh, which took place in Fortaleza in July 2009, this is the last printed issue of the RBH. As from issue no. 59, we shall start a new phase in which the publication will be exclusively digital and with an English version.

Adopting this new format represents a new phase in the history of RBH. Our historiographic tradition of privileging hard copy texts and files made us feel somewhat fearful of this new media of writing. Nevertheless, the fast transformations suffered by the current editorial market imply in a growing trend to the digitalization of publication. The electronic publication provides opportunities for the use of technology in order to enhance the historiographic production, thereby, there is the possibility of writing history far beyond the reach of words and, therefore, narratives can be composed by images, hypertexts, environments in 3D and everything else that digital support can offer to the researcher. Such a change also intends to internationalize the Brazilian historiographic production, besides reducing costs and logistic difficulties involving storage and distribution.

In this issue, the dossier "The Republics" presents four articles highlighting the period of 1889-1930. Flavio Heinz’s text analyzes the performance of professors from the School of Engineering of Porto Alegre and their participation in the Public Administration. Cláudia Viscardi presents us an article about the mutualism in Rio de Janeiro, seen as a strategy of workers to face poverty and lack of social support. Regina Horta’s text, through the analysis of the trajectory of the scientist Cândido de Mello Leitão, discusses the development of the field of Biology in Brazil, and how this was marked by strong political usage, committed with the defense of concepts favorable to the construction of a strong and centralized State. Closing the dossier, we have the contribution of Natália de Lacerda, who analyzes the data produced by the General Agency of Statistics from 1871 to 1931, in order to reflect about the relevance of educational statistics as a source of research in History of Education.

The other articles of the issue focus on varied subjects. The text of Helenice Ciampi, Alexandre Pianelly, Antonio Simplício and Ilíada Pires, "The bandeirante curriculum", discusses the unfolding that the Proposed Syllabus of the State of São Paulo brought to educational professionals as well as students. Douglas Cole and Zephyr Frank present a research about ethnicity and social grading in Brazil, from the 18^thto the 19^thcentury. Studying the Niterói magazine, Débora Andrade intends to rebuild the proposal of nationality affirmation in this publication, which defended the centrality of arts and literature. Closing the series of articles, we have the contribution of Marco Stancik, who analyzes pictures dated from the time of the First World War, dealing with them as documents from different perceptions of the conflict.

Yet included in this volume, we present an interview given by Professor Fernando Catroga, from the University of Coimbra. The historian speaks about his intellectual trajectory, historical events experienced by himself and the evolution of the place of History in modern society.

We end this RBH issue with a series of reviews which intend to present the readers with relevant contributions for historiographic production of Brazil and abroad. Lúcia Lippi signs the review of the book Antropologia Brasiliana: ciência e educação na obra de Edgard Roquette-Pinto, organized by Nísia Lima and Dominichi de Sá; Sílvio Marcus Correa presents the book of Karen Dubinsky et al., New World Coming: the sixties and the shaping of global consciousness; Waldir Rampinelli brings a text on the Apologia dos bárbaros: ensaios contra o império, of Mike Davis; and, finally, we have Eliane Abrahão, who reviews the book of João Luiz Máximo da Silva, Cozinha modelo: o impacto do gás e da eletricidade na casa paulistana (1870-1930).

The Editorial Board

(Translated into English by Mara Moreira)

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  23 Feb 2010
• Date of issue
  Dec 2009