Education, outdoor life and amusement in the coast of Fortaleza (1925-1946)

Abstract

The Brazilian coast was not always the place where an ideation of outdoor life was developed and affirmed. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the coast of Fortaleza, geographical delimitation of this research, was attended mostly by fishermen and dockers. With the spread of hygienist medical discourses and precepts in the early twentieth century, the search for an outdoor life and the dissemination of a physical culture became part of the daily necessities, influencing educational and amusement practices, taking the beach as its place. The first bungalows at the seashore appeared in the 1920s, the same period in which the newspapers and magazines began to report new uses of the coast. Having in mind the displacement of meaning that has operated in this space, the objective of the present research project is to analyze the complex network created by the different uses of the beach, especially those concerned with educational practices and amusements, which include sports, physical exercises and gymnastics, sea baths, among others. The initial milestone is the year 1925, when the beach gets a new name, Praia de Iracema, along with other changes in its uses. The final milestone is 1946, when the sea invaded houses and establishments located in part of the coast, leaving the beach abandoned for some years. The sources are: newspapers, magazines, novels, chronicles and images. Finally, it should be pointed out that this work belongs to the field of the history of education and explores the problematic of the relationship between education and outdoor life. (AU)