Darwinism, art and literature in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in the early 20th century
- Autores: Heloísa M.B. Domingues, Magali Romero Sá
- Localización: The Circulation of Science and Technology: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the European Society for the History of Science. Barcelona, 18-20 November 2010 / coord. por Antoni M. Roca Rosell, 2012, ISBN 978-84-9965-108-8, págs. 617-624
- Idioma: inglés
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Resumen
Since the 1870’s, Darwin’s theory has been disseminated among intellectuals and scientists in Brazil. The capital city of Rio de Janeiro, just as other capitals in the world, was re-urbanized in the beginning of the 20th century inspired by the reform of Hausmann in Paris. Behind the process of modernizing the city was the initiative of sanitizing the Brazilian capital, what was undertaken under the coordination of the hygienist Dr. Oswaldo Cruz. .
Among intellectuals, Euclides da Cunha, a military who followed positivist orientation and was adept to Darwin’s theory, based his main publication Os Sertões (The backlands) on the interpretation of Darwin’s ideas.
The book describes the struggle in the hinterland of the country between a group that supported the imperial government and the troops of the newly installed Republican army. The publication praises both the natural settings and the toughness of the hinterland man, contrasting him with the polite but weak urban men, more susceptible to diseases. Literature and urban architecture applied the scientific precepts of Darwinism in order to solve social, political and cultural issues of the city and the country
