Leituras, projetos e (Re)vista(s) do Brasil (1916-1944)

Abstract

The author of this work, Tania Regina de Luca, a well known researcher both nationally and internationally, graduated in History from the University of São Paulo, an institution where she obtained a Master's and Ph.D. in Social History. Her career is strongly intertwined with debates about the history of Republican Brazil, while her professional activities have concentrated on Historiography, History of the Press, Social History of Culture and Intellectual History. The press in the Vargas Era is the focus of her current research, a topic covered in part by her new book, the subject of this review. While her studies often refer to Revista do Brasil, as in Leituras, projetos e (Re)vista(s) do Brasil, she nonetheless continues her previous work on Brazilian cultural periodicals, noted for its strong methodological content. What actually adds to the debate is the study of other cultural publications, which provides a broad understanding of the intellectual production of the time in this type of publication. This addition also allows for discussion of readings and projects from and for Brazil, both political and cultural, that added part of the intellectuality involved in these editorial ventures. Throughout the text the author stresses the importance of perceiving the methodological approach that guides her analysis, which, she says, represents a contribution to the construction of a specific way of approaching printed materials. In this way, the contributions result from some methodological aspects, for example, paying attention to the dynamics of intellectual groups, in relation to support, and also to the presentation of a material and typographic nature (cover, paper, illustrations, advertising, pagination). All these elements, in general, have already been the object of reflection by the author, and are among the important contributions to studies of this nature in the field of