‘Men who taught America to read’: adult education in Brazil and Mexico(1947-1956)

Abstract:

This text aims to analyze the relationship established between Jaime Torres Bodet and Manuel Bergström Lourenço Filho in adult literacy campaigns that took place in Mexico and Brazil, which culminated with the 6^th Inter-American Seminar on Adult Literacy and Education being held in Brazil, in 1949. It is, therefore, an investigation about the circulation of ideas that guided adult education in Brazil and Mexico, at a time when Mexico was standing as a successful reference for all of Latin America, above all, due to the experiences carried out by UNESCO, the OAS and the Crefal. Regarding theoretical and methodological options, this is a work based on Connected History and took newspapers, magazines and photographs as sources. Finally, it can be concluded that the relationship between those men was constituted in the campaign movement to eradicate adult illiteracy, carried out in their respective countries by UNESCO, which resulted in congresses being held and, consequently, in a vast intellectual and didactic production on the topic.

Keywords:
adult education; Jaime Torres and Lourenço Filho; adult literacy campaigns; Unesco; Crefal