Archiving memories, bequeathing histories: the school newspapers at the Arquivo Público do Estado de Santa Catarina (APESC)

Abstract

This article examines the context of the production of school newspapers from Santa Catarina between the 1930s and 1950s, highlighting the importance of the Arquivo Público do Estado de Santa Catarina (Apesc) in safeguarding them. In Santa Catarina, starting in the 1930s, school newspapers - along with other auxiliary associations - were made mandatory for schools by the Department of Education. More than a so-called modern pedagogical renewal proposal aimed at preparing students for practical matters, school newspapers became, especially during the Estado Novo (1937–1945), instruments of nationalization and discipline within school culture. Circulars, decrees, and visits by school inspectors standardized and controlled their production. Schools were also required to send at least one copy of each newspaper produced to the Department of Education for registration and archiving. It is reasonable to assume that the authoritarian policies of the period contributed to the fact that thousands of copies of Santa Catarina school newspapers survived the ravages of time, stored and preserved at Apesc. Of the 1,385 newspapers inventoried in the research Jornais escolares como culturas de memória (1895-1975), conducted by members of the Ensino de História, Memória e Culturas research group (CNPq/Udesc), 1,368 titles and approximately 29,800 copies are at Apesc, organized into 207 codices that are part of the Escolas/Grupos Escolares fonds. This archive likely holds and preserves the largest number of school newspapers in Brazil, perhaps even in Latin America, contributing to ensuring that a significant part of the country's historical and educational heritage is known and passed on to future generations.