Possibilities of Exploring the (De)colonial Processes in the History of Latin American Education from a Transnational Perspective (Part 2)
Andrés Baeza
Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile
Chair(s): Andrés Baeza (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile)
The transnational perspective has been gaining space in the history of education in the last years. This is evident in journals and conferences like the Paedagogica Historica and the International Standing Conference for the History of Education. In books bringing together authors from varied countries, such as "The transnational in the History of Education" (Roldán Vera; Fuchs, 2019), or from the same country but exploring multiple connections, such as "Rethinking Centre-Periphery Assumptions in the History of Education" (Vidal; Silva, 2024), or projects with international collaborations as the Brazilian-funded "Knowledge and practices in frontiers: toward a transnational History of Education (1810-...)" –to mention a few examples – researchers from different backgrounds have gathered around the effort to explore their wide range of research objects from a transnational perspective. The transnational history is not a methodology but a way of approaching the research object. Therefore, the procedures may vary depending on the proposed objective and types of sources. It is not restricted to national borders, although it doesn't ignore the existence of national states, which makes some developments in the research unpredictable to a certain extent. Since it is not restricted to geographical borders, it can make it possible to discover and explore new connections and even find new artifacts or actors. More recently, discussions based on a decolonial framework have also been incorporated in the field, adding to the postcolonial perspectives (Ossenbach, Pozo-Andrés, 2011; Caruso, Maul, 2020; Caruso, Toro-Blanco, 2023). Such approaches enhance the possibilities of exploring the history seen from below, subverting the idea of center and periphery and educational transfers. This is particularly relevant for the Latin American context, where the setting of new educational systems formed part of the nation-state building process in the 19th and 20th centuries. This symposium aims at multiple ways a transnational approach can contribute to exploring the Latin American history of education and shed light on new connections or deepen the understanding of otherwise "traditional" themes. Furthermore, it brings the possibility of identifying and problematizing different methodologies that have been used. Composed of two panels, it brings together authors and discussants from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, the United States, and Uruguay, whose research has focused on different themes in the history of Latin American education. Although diverse, with a timeframe spanning from the second half of the 19th century to the early second half of the 20th century, it's possible to identify common elements through the panels. The ways imperialism impacted education in different countries, the role played by international conferences, educational trips, and appropriation processes in shaping the educational systems in Latin America are just some of these aspects.
Presentations of the Panel
Alberto Langlade and Transnational Circulation Networks in the Field of Physical Education and Gymnastics, Uruguay (1945-1970)
Alberto Langlade y las Redes de Circulación Transnacional en el Campo de la Educación Física y la Gimnasia, Uruguay (1945-1970)
Virginia Alonso Sosa, Paola Dogliotti
Universidad de la República, Uruguay
This paper explores the ways in which Alberto Langlade (1919-1980) promoted and was part of the transnational circulation of ideas, agents, and objects in the field of physical education, gymnastics, and sport from his territorial enclave, Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. As a prominent and reference actor in these fields in Uruguay and internationally, he held different positions at the state level as well as in various sports organisations. His figure was preponderant in the construction of transnational links and networks: he held positions in various international organisations in these areas, made a multiplicity of trips abroad, and encouraged several generations of teachers to take study trips and scholarships in Sweden and Germany. At the same time, he demanded that the Uruguayan government improve the state of physical education by writing letters on several occasions on his return from his tours abroad and demanding better conditions for the field. Moreover, he wrote articles in national and international journals in several languages and gave lectures and postgraduate courses in several countries. He has published multiple works and articles in national and foreign journals and a large number of study manuals for students of the Higher Institute of Physical Education (ISEF) in the area of gymnastics. It is for all these reasons that this paper seeks to investigate the circulations and transits that he promoted, the networks that he created and his main contributions to the field of physical education, gymnastics, and sport. For this purpose, we rely on a variety of sources, among which we highlight his books and articles, study manuals, travel diaries, letters and reports, conference papers, oral testimonies of some of the leading teachers in the field who travelled abroad encouraged by Langlade. The main archives consulted are those held by the ISEF's Centro de Memoria de Educación Física (CEMEF) in its two divisions: Library and Archive. From a methodological point of view, we are based on a historiographical approach that focuses on the analysis of cultural practices as processes of circulation and appropriation, with interdependent relationships between the local, the regional, and the global, where cultural mediators (subjects, books, objects, etc.) occupy a relevant place as mobilisers of creative processes of reception and appropriation of ideas (Souza, 2016; Gruzinki, 2015). In this framework, the aim is, based on a certain affectation of Transnational History, "to exalt interconnections (...) to emphasise networks, processes, beliefs, and institutions, transcending national space (...) [with a] central concern for movements and circulations (...) between places and regions" (Coelho, 2012, p. 19).
Paper Abstract (in Language of Presentation):
El trabajo indaga acerca de los modos en que Alberto Langlade (1919-1980) promovió y fue parte de la circulación transnacional de ideas, agentes y objetos en el campo de la educación física, la gimnasia y el deporte desde su enclave territorial, Montevideo, capital de Uruguay. Como actor destacado y de referencia en estos campos en Uruguay e internacionalmente, ocupó diferentes cargos a nivel estatal así como en diversas organizaciones deportivas. Su figura fue preponderante en la construcción de lazos y redes transnacionales: ocupó cargos en diversas organizaciones internacionales en estas áreas, realizó una multiplicidad de viajes al exterior e impulsó a varias generaciones de profesores a cursar viajes de estudios y becas en Suecia y Alemania. A su vez, demandó al gobierno uruguayo mejorar el estado de la educación física al escribir misivas en diversas ocasiones al regresar de sus giras en el exterior y exigir mejores y mayores condiciones para el campo. Por otra parte, escribió artículos en revistas nacionales e internacionales en diversos idiomas y dictó conferencias y cursos de posgrado en varios países. Ha publicado múltiples obras y artículos en revistas nacionales y extranjeras y una gran cantidad de manuales de estudio para los estudiantes del Instituto Superior de Educación Física (ISEF) en el área de la gimnasia. Es por todo esto, que el presente trabajo busca indagar las circulaciones y tránsitos que promovió, las redes que fue configurando y sus principales contribuciones al campo de la educación física, la gimnasia y el deporte.
Para esto nos basamos en una diversidad de fuentes entre las que destacamos, sus libros y artículos, manuales de estudio, diarios de viaje, cartas e informes, ponencias en congresos, testimonios orales de algunos profesores referentes en el campo que viajaron al exterior impulsados por Langlade. Los principales archivos consultados son los que están a resguardo del Centro de Memoria de Educación Física (CEMEF) del ISEF en sus dos divisiones: Biblioteca y Archivo. Desde el punto de vista metodológico, nos basamos en un enfoque historiográfico que se centra en el análisis de las prácticas culturales como procesos de circulación y apropiación diversas, con relaciones de interdependencia entre lo local, lo regional y lo global, donde ocupan un lugar relevante los mediadores culturales (sujetos, libros, objetos, etc.) como movilizadores de procesos creativos de recepción y apropiación de ideas (Souza, 2016; Gruzinki, 2015). En este marco se pretende, a partir de cierta afectación de la Historia Transnacional, “exaltar las interconexiones (…) enfatizar las redes, los procesos, las creencias y las instituciones, trascendiendo el espacio nacional. (…) [con una] preocupación central por movimientos y circulaciones (…) entre lugares y regiones” (Coelho, 2012, p. 19).
Bibliography
Coelho Prado, M. L. (2012). América Latina: historia comparada, historias conectadas, historia trasnacional. Escuela de Historia, Anuario 24 (9-22). Revista Digital Nº3, Facultad de Humanidades y Artes (UNR).
Gruzinski, S. (2015). O historiador e a mundialização. Texto apresentado na conferencia ministrada em 11/06/2007, como participacao no Programa Catedras Fundacao Ford. Belo Horizonte: IEAT/UFMG.
Souza, R. F. (2016). Cruzando fronteiras regionais: repensando a historia comparada da educação em âmbito nacional. Rev. Bras. Educ. [online] 21(67), 833-850.
"The Missionaries Have Arrived Again": Appropriations and Reconfigurations of the "Missions" in Latin America (1920-1960)
“Los Misioneros Han Llegado de Nuevo”: Apropiaciones y Reconfiguraciones de las “Misiones” en América Latina (1920-1960)
Pamela Ruth Reisin
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina
In Mexico, José Vasconcelos, in his capacity as Secretary of Public Education (1921-1924), developed the Cultural Missions with the initial purpose of training rural teachers in service. Soon enough, these missions assumed the added role of teaching peasants "small industries" with the aim of improving their living conditions. This generated, in the words of the Director of the Cultural Missions, Rafael Ramírez, a "double job" (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1928). In order to devise the Cultural Missions, Vasconcelos found inspiration in the evangelizing missions installed in indigenous territories by religious orders during the colony (Vasconcelos, 2011). Similar to what was done by the colonial missionaries, the Mexican post-revolutionary governments (1920-1940) intended that rural teachers would become "apostles of the "new life" through the teachings of the "modern missionaries", assuming the role of non-religious community leaders (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1928; Solorio Talavera, N., y Trujillo Holguín, 2020). Following the example of Mexico, "missions" with the dual aim of training teachers and favoring the education of the villagers were established in other rural territories of Latin American countries between 1930 and 1960 (Reisin, 2024 y 2023). The transnational history approach will be used to analyze the different meanings that were given to the term "missions" in the history of education in Latin America. We will discuss the colonial origins of the term and its appropriation and reconfiguration by different political officials, pedagogues, and rural teachers, focusing on the Mexican Cultural Missions (1922-1938) and the Uruguayan Socio-Pedagogical Missions (1945-1960). This perspective of analysis, which does not restrict itself to national borders, allows the opening of new fields of research through the study of processes of interaction and circulation of ideas, experiences, and subjects. For this paper, various sources will be used: chronicles and reports of the missions, official publications, writings of teachers and officials linked to the development of the missions, photographs, posters, and flyers, teachers' union bulletins, interviews with rural teachers and missionaries, among others.
Paper Abstract (in Language of Presentation):
En México, José Vasconcelos, en su carácter de Secretario de Educación Pública (1921-1924), ideó la realización de Misiones Culturales con el objetivo inicial de formar maestros rurales en servicio, aunque prontamente estas misiones asumieron también la función de enseñar a los campesinos “pequeñas industrias” con el objetivo de que pudieran mejorar sus condiciones de vida, lo cual generó, en palabras del Director de las Misiones Culturales, Rafael Ramírez, un “doble trabajo” (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1928). Vasconcelos, para idear las Misiones Culturales, se inspiró en las misiones evangelizadoras desplegadas en territorios indígenas por órdenes religiosas durante la colonia (Vasconcelos, 2011). En semejanza con lo realizado por los misioneros coloniales, la apuesta de los gobiernos post-revolucionarios mexicanos (1920-1940) fue que, mediante las enseñanzas de los “misioneros modernos”, los maestros rurales se convirtieran en “apóstoles de la “nueva vida””, asumiendo un rol de líder comunitario no religioso (Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1928; Solorio Talavera, N., y Trujillo Holguín, 2020). Tomando el ejemplo de México, entre 1930 y 1960, en distintos países de América Latina también se establecieron “misiones” en territorios rurales con el objetivo no sólo de formar maestros sino también de favorecer la educación de los pobladores (Reisin, 2024 y 2023). Nos proponemos analizar, desde el enfoque de la historia transnacional, los sentidos que adquirió el término “misiones” en la historia de la educación en América Latina, sus orígenes coloniales y su apropiación y reconfiguración por parte de distintos funcionarios políticos, pedagogos y maestros rurales, tomando como foco las Misiones Culturales mexicanas (1922-1938) y las Misiones Socio-Pedagógicas uruguayas (1945-1960). Esta perspectiva de análisis, al no restringirse a las fronteras nacionales, permitirá abrir nuevos ámbitos de indagación mediante el estudio de procesos de interacción y circulación de ideas, experiencias y sujetos. Para este trabajo se indagará en diversas fuentes: crónicas e informes de las misiones, publicaciones oficiales, escritos de maestros y funcionarios vinculados con el desarrollo de las mismas, fotografías, afiches y volantes, boletines gremiales del magisterio, entrevistas a maestros rurales y a misioneros, entre otros.
Bibliography
Reisin, P. (2024). De lo pedagógico a lo político: Misiones Socio-pedagógicas en Uruguay (1945-1960). Cuadernos Chilenos De Historia De La Educación, (18).
Reisin, P. (2023). “La configuración de la pedagogía ruralista en Uruguay y sus conexiones con la educación rural mexicana (1930-1960)”. Tesis de doctorado, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.
Secretaria de Educación Pública (1928). Las misiones culturales en 1927. Las escuelas normales rurales. SEP.
Solorio Talavera, N., & Trujillo Holguín, J. A. (2020). Orígenes de la educación indígena en las misiones coloniales de Chihuahua. Anuario Mexicano De Historia De La Educación, 2(1), 105–117.
Vasconcelos, J. (2011). La creación de la Secretaría de Educación Pública. Instituto Nacional de Estudios Históricos de las Revoluciones de México.
Shaping the Classroom in 19th Century Chile: Transnational Connections, Local Limitations
Andrés Baeza
Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Chile
In the second half of the 19th century, Chile underwent significant discussions regarding primary education, particularly on how to make primary students learn better (Baeza, 2020).
These debates played a crucial role in the formation and consolidation of the new nation-state after independence (Alarcón, 2009). They coincided with discussions on national identity, emphasizing the necessity to standardize and homogenize it. This presentation explores the impact of the establishment of the Escuela Normal de Preceptores (School of Preceptors) in 1842, marking a shift toward standardization in Chile's educational system. The institution not only defined the content teachers should impart but also prescribed specific teaching methods and organizational systems for classrooms.
Two predominant systems, the mutual and the simultaneous, were mandated for all schools in Chile as in other parts of South America (Caruso, 2015). However, reports from school visitors revealed a blending of these systems in practice due to local constraints (Soifer, 2009). Most schools operated in adapted old houses donated by local residents, and teachers, often unfamiliar with prescribed systems, organized classrooms based on their personal experiences. Consequently, primary schools lacked rational organization, hindering effective learning (Serrano, Ponce de León and Rengifo, 2012). The Ley General de Instrucción Primaria (Primary Education Act) in 1860 and an expanded school visitor network became catalysts for prioritizing improvements within the classroom. The Liberals, steering a new political direction, aimed to expand primary schooling, while school visitor reports served as critical tools for initiating reforms. A key focus was creating a rational and homogeneous organizational structure to enhance literacy skills, leading to the endorsement of the simultaneous system. While the imperative to standardize the educational system primarily served pedagogical purposes, it also served the broader objective of homogenizing the nation This decision drew inspiration from European manuals and books, particularly from Spain, France, and Germany, as well as other Spanish American nations like Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. The presentation aims to analyze from a Transnational and Cultural perspectives the interplay between Chilean policymakers and these foreign educational sources during the late 19th century. Furthermore, it seeks to demonstrate how ideas from these sources were translated and implemented within Chilean local contexts, revealing the influence of transnational educational exchanges. Despite these efforts, local circumstances imposed limitations on the seamless implementation of foreign ideas and practices. The mismatch between prescribed systems and the reality of Chilean classrooms persisted due to factors such as school locations and teacher familiarity. This presentation sheds light on the delicate balance between transnational influences and local challenges, showcasing the complexities involved in shaping 19th-century Chilean classrooms.
Bibliography
Alarcón, C. (2009). “Construcción del Estado-Nacional a través de ‘Sociedades de Referencia'’. La Recepción de modelos alemanes de formación docente y militar desde 1880 hasta 1920 en Chile”. En Hernández-Díaz, J (ed.). Influencias alemanas en la educación española e iberoamericana. Salamanca: Editorial Globalia Anathema, pp. 367-379.
Baeza, A. (2020). Difusión, pervivencia y obsolescencia del sistema lancasteriano de enseñanza en Chile: del desorden sistemático a la uniformidad en torno al sistema simultáneo, 1832-1860. Revista de Historia y Geografía 43, 19-60.c
Caruso, M (2015). “Classroom Struggle. Organizing Elementary Teaching in the 19th Century”, en Marcelo Caruso (ed.). Classroom Struggle. Organizing Elementary Teaching in the 19th Century. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 9-40.
Soifer, H. (2009). The Sources of Infrastructural Power: Evidence from Nineteenth-Century Chilean Education. Latin American Research Review 44 (2), 158-80.
Serrano, S., Ponce de León, M. y Rengifo, F. (2012). Aprender a leer y escribir (1810-1880). Vol. 1. Historia de la Educación en Chile (1810-2010). Santiago: Editorial Taurus.
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