Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: LÉCIO CORDEIRO DE SOUZA
Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.STUDENT : LÉCIO CORDEIRO DE SOUZA
DATE: 17/12/2024
TIME: 14:30
LOCAL: Sala virtual Google
TITLE:
THE INVISIBLE BUILDER: The artisan stonemason in Recife (1837–2020)
KEY WORDS:
Province of Pernambuco; Social history of labor; Manual labor; Stonemasonry; Stonemasons
PAGES: 72
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUBÁREA: História do Brasil
SPECIALTY: História do Brasil Império
SUMMARY:
This research tracks the stonemasonry craft from 1837 to 2020 in Recife, Pernambuco. By examining this craft, this research also contemplates the labor activity of the artisans who were and still are involved with it. The beginning of this timeframe, the year 1837, marks the start of Francisco do Rego Barros’ term as president of the province, a mandate that lasted until 1844 and was marked, among other things, by the so-called “modernizing campaign” — a series of structural changes through which the conservatives intended to modernize Recife in the example of the most notorious European cities at the time. To implement the desired changes, the government enacted numerous measures. Among them, notable ones include the publication of the Additional Regulations and the hiring of the 195 German mechanical artisans who formed the Company of Workers, both measures taking place in 1839. The Regulations sought to standardize and organize Recife’s constructions, and the German artisans were hired to enforce these standards and to teach their crafts to local workers. Concerning stonemasonry specifically, Article 10 of the Additional Regulations decreed the use of carved stones in the framing of doors, windows, and thresholds. This requirement triggered a sharp increase in stone imports and in the labor activity of stonemasons at least until 1850, when the Santa Isabel Theater was inaugurated, after which stonemasonry began to decline. Many factors contributed to this decline: the shortage of skilled labor, the high cost of daily wages, the interference from both state and foreign artisans, the intensive use of cement, the development of construction techniques, and, more recently, in the early 20th century, the popularization of reinforced concrete. In the following decades, these factors caused the craft to lose prominence in Pernambuco. Today, stonemasonry is restricted to the work of a handful of artisans who learned their technique from Master Hamilton Martins, considered a reference in the production and restoration of stonework in Brazil. In the effort to understand the context surrounding stonemasonry and stonemasons, this research also follows Master Hamilton’s trajectory. As such, while addressing a manual craft and its artisans, their work, their professional conflicts, and their social interactions over time — from past to present —, this study contributes to the Social History of Labor. By following this path, it engages with other fields of knowledge, especially Anthropology, Architecture, Oral History, and History of the Present.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - MARIANA ALBUQUERQUE DANTAS
Interno - ***.516.214-** - BRUNO MELO DE ARAUJO - UFPE
Interno - WELLINGTON BARBOSA DA SILVA
Externa à Instituição - Vânia C. S. Cavalcanti
Externo à Instituição - BRUNO AUGUSTO DORNELAS CÂMARA