Discourses on moral and civic found in textbooks from 1962 of the campaign for education of teenagers and adults in Brazil

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to display moral and civic discourses presented in the collection of books called Série Moral and Civismo (Moral and Civic Series) from Educar Collection by Renato Sêneca Fleury with illustration by Fernando Pieruccetti. The Campaign for Education of Teenagers and Adults (CEAA, in Portuguese), which took place in Brazil from 1947 to 1963, used Moral and Civic series as a textbook. This study examined the books using critical discourse analysis (ACD), according to Norman Fairclough, considering three aspects: textual, discourse and social practice. This work also considered Durkheim's concepts of moral and civic morality in the analysis. The books from the series such as ‘Voto e Democracia’, ‘Direitos e deveres do Cidadão Brasileiro’, ‘Como é bom trabalhar’, and ‘O Esposo, a esposa, os filhos’ (1962) demonstrate a civic morality based on an estabelished belief system and customs, such as Catholicism faith. This means citizens were taught to behave in a way that makes possible the development of liberal democracy in Brazil. People understanding of political and social matters, such as elections and tax collection, were prepared to follow the social and political construction applied by the government.