Ecos da modernidade: transformações cadenciadas no cotidiano de Itabaiana - PB (1901-1920)

Abstract

This work aimed to detect the changes and continuities in the cultural and structural aspects of the city of Itabaiana, in Paraíba, during part of the 20th century (1901-1920). The city is a constant object of study in the human and social sciences. The entire city structure that makes up the urban environment has problematizations to be worked on by various perspectives of science. By proposing, an approach to the city focused on Cultural History, the historian seeks to understand the details beyond what is seen superficially, it becomes necessary to question the object, that is, the city, in order to obtain details from the cultural sphere. It is not possible to isolate only an area of History, therefore, emphasis is placed on one of them, but the others are not excluded, a dialogue between these areas is necessary so that the narrative becomes consistent, in this way, the writing of a Cultural History of the city also brings social, economical and political elements. As much as the historiography of cities is full of studies on large urban centers, gaps are realized when it comes to smaller cities, like is the case of the research object of this work: The city of Itabaiana. Located in the Agreste of Paraíba, Itabaiana was popularized in the colonial period, the cattle fair that was established in the place attracted people and contributed to the formation of the urban center little by little. Soon, after the Proclamation of the Republic, the city became emancipated and with that, several changes were made in its structure, which affected not only the landscape, but also the way of experiencing the city, its daily life. The city of Itabaiana, as well as several other cities in Brazil, at the beginning of the 20th century, experienced the process of arrival of the signs of modern times, the train, electricity and, among other factors, evidenced the arrival of modernity in the city. With this new advent, everyday life is transformed, the city began to live at a faster pace, with new ways of behaving in the city emerged, imported from other large urban centers that already experienced the modern era. Primary sources for the research, photographs, newspapers and literary works of the time evidenced the daily life lived in the time frame worked. Such types of sources require the historian to observe them with caution, since they are imbued with subjectivities and intentions to be realized with the technical eye of the researcher. These subjectivities, when identified, become allied to the research on the daily life and the Cultural History of the city, which make it possible to verify the impacts generated, in the daily life, by the arrival of modernity in the city of Itabaiana in the beginning of the 20th century. As an advent, modernity was the main transformative agent of the landscape and daily life of the city of Itabaiana in the first two decades of the 20th century.