Ciência, nação e região na Era Vargas: o caso do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (1930-1945)

Abstract

This dissertation is situated at the interface of environmental history and the History of Science and proposes to the relationship between science and politics between 1930 and 1945, a period known as the Vargas Era. The period is characterid by historiography as rupture in the political, administrative, social and economic sphere of the Brazilian state, in relation to the balance of force and the partten of development the so-called First Republic. This change was reflected in the cultural esphere and had consequences for the institucionalization of the Sciences and the configuration of a Brazilian heritage field. This process will be analyzed in the state of Pará through a case study, particularly the scientific work of Carlos Estêvão de Oliveira at the head of the Emilio Goeldi Museum, where he served as director for amost 15 years, since he was invited by the federal Magalhães Barata, 1930. In this context, the state of Pará was going through a serious financial crisis, as the rubber economic had collapsed since the 1910, and public instituicions, with few resources at their disposal, began to face numerous problems. The aim is therefore to understand the institutional adopted Carlos Estêvão de Oliveira during his time in office, what the scientific agenda built up during this period and how the institution was transformed into a centralizing and nacionalist political enviroment.