Exposições universais: arquitetando a identidade nacional do Brasil Império

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the construction of a national identity for the Universal Expositions during the Brazilian Empire (19th century), understanding this construction as a project of public policy, both external and internal. It investigates how such events articulated discourses of progress, science, and modernity, and how these representations dialogued with the sociopolitical context of the period. The sources for analysis include: the book and album Brasil Pitoresco (1859-1861), by Charles Ribeyrolles and Victor Frond; the book O Brasil (1889), by Emile Lavousser; the books O Império do Brasil na Exposição Universal de 1867 em Paris (1867), O Império do Brazil na Exposição Universal de 1873 em Vienna d'Áustria (1873), and O Império do Brazil na Exposição Universal de 1876 em Philadelphia (1876), the latter without specific authorship. To theoretically ground our analysis of national identity, we engage with Stuart Hall, Eric Hobsbawm, and Benedict Anderson, and draw on Roger Chartier and Pierre Bourdieu to conceptualize representation. Therefore, we analyze how the Exhibitions functioned as mechanisms of political legitimacy, exposing tensions between the civilizing project and the Empire limits.