Palavras-chave
História Cultural; Colportagem; Cultura Escrita
Autores
Abstract
This study analyzed the circulation of Protestant printed materials in Brazil in 1872 as a form of cultural mediation linked to transnational networks. It sought to understand the strategies of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the role of colporteurs, and the conflicts arising from the Protestant presence in a predominantly Catholic context. It is grounded in New Cultural History, combining Ginzburg’s (2007) indexical method with the contributions of Chartier (1988) and Darnton (1992) on the circulation and appropriation of printed materials. Based on a microanalysis of correspondence from BEF agents, preserved at the Cambridge University Library, the letters were interpreted as situated documents, according to Le Goff (1990). The results reveal an organized system of circulation, with consolidated networks and resistance, such as bureaucratic obstacles and religious conflicts. The role of colporteurs as cultural mediators stands out. It was concluded that colportage was strategic in the territorialization of reading and the reorganization of the nineteenth-century Brazilian religious field, articulating cultural mediation and symbolic dispute.
CHARTIER, Roger. A História Cultural: entre práticas e representações. 2. ed. Lisboa: Difusão Editorial, 1988.
DARNTON, Robert. "História da leitura". In: BURKE, Peter (Org.). A escrita da história: novas perspectivas. São Paulo: UNESP, 1992.
GINZBURG, Carlo. O fio e o rastro: verdadeiro, falso, fictício. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2007.
LE GOFF, Jacques. História e memória. Campinas: Editora da UNICAMP, 1990.