The Italian Mission of Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras da USP and the representations on the Fascism before the Second World War in newspapers and in São Paulo

Abstract

In this paper, we analyse the reception in the São Paulo Press of the Italian Mission in newly founded Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras of the University of São Paulo, in the 1930's. This Mission, consisting primarily of Italian teachers of mathematics and physics, was responsible for formation of the first groups of undergraduate students of these areas at the University of São Paulo. We suggest a new interpretation on the issue of membership of the teachers of the Mission to the Fascist National Party. In fact, for us, some Italian professors were not welcome by the students of the FFCL much more for being Italian and immigrants than for being fascists. In other words, the historiographical debate should focus more on an identity bias than on the imperialist and political bias.