Memories about Colégio São Vicente de Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1970s-1980s

<h3>Project Overview</h3>
<p>This data project is part of a history dissertation which examines social movements in 1970s and 1980s Brazil. It investigates the experiences of people who attended or worked at Colégio São Vicente de Paulo (CSVP) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the period. CSVP, a Vincentian/Lazarist school, was locally known for its openness to political discussions despite the restrictions imposed by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985). Government documentation produced by the Brazilian regime corroborate the school’s progressive nature, which can also be inferred from newspaper sources and other primary documents. The project analyzes oral testimonies alongside such documentary sources, to provide a more detailed understanding of this case. It contributes to scholarly discussions on Brazilian society’s experiences under the dictatorship and a community’s engagement with its past. Focusing on the 1970s and 1980s allows for a detailed examination of a period of intense transformation in Brazil, marked by economic challenges, social movements, and a growing push for re-democratization, which encompassed several steps in the 1980s. The research methodology involved conducting online interviews with former students, staff, and teachers of CSVP. Participants reviewed and revised their transcribed testimonials, as part of a horizontal, collaborative, research process. This project contributes to a larger body of literature on Brazil’s dictatorship and on Latin American twentieth-century dictatorial regimes. It underscores the experiences and aspirations of a community and the pedagogical methods employed in this educational institution.</p>