Espírito Santo Secondary School (1908-1930): book, reading practices and literary activity

Abstract

This paper investigates the reading practices developed at the high-school Ginásio do Espirito Santo concentrating on reading spaces, access to reading material, types of reading control employed by the school, student reading habits outside the school space, school didactic and literary body of work selection, as well as the uses and appropriations of the reading material by the students at the mentioned institution. The research [methodology?] was mostly based on the theoretical reflections of Marc Bloch, Michel de Certeau, Carlo Ginzburg and Roger Chartier. The study results indicated that although classroom readings and literary text workings, under the strict pedagogical principles used at the time, did help students with their grammar and oratory abilities, the strict school and social norms were not enough to stop different uses and appropriations of the reading material.