A escola modelar e os profissionais do progresso :carreiras e recursos de diplomados da Escola de Engenharia de Porto Alegre (1899-1916)

Abstract

This essay has the objective to analyze the careers and resources of the graduates from "Escola de Engenharia de Porto Alegre" (EEPA) between 1899 and 1916. By graduates we mean those who finished some of the institution major degrees, i. e. the engineers. The EEPA, founded in 1896, is one of the first college institutions on Rio Grande do Sul and represents an improvement of the technical knowledge, for it was since its foundation that the people from Rio Grande do Sul who wanted to be an engineer could study on their own state, enhancing the number of professionals in the area. Presenting itself as a "model school" and home of the "progress professionals", runs along with the "Partido Republicano Riograndense" government, although it was founded as a private initiative it received several bonus and assistances, most of all from de state government. In general, a series of questions guided this research's development: Who were the EEPA's students? Which was their social origin? How was their graduation? Had they contact with other countries and institutions? Had they some kind of political engagement? How did they begin the engineer's career? Did they have a government job and/or a political job? Who was part of their network? The answers to these questions would lead us to the general purpose of understanding how were built the careers of the first graduates in RS. This research's methodology was prosopography, allied with the ideas of resources and strategy. The prosopographical analysis implicated one hundred ninety-four individuals who had their information collected such as origin and family background, graduation and degree, career, political view and social relationship. Due to this research it's possible to find the expressive presence of army, politicians, land property owners and merchants businessmen among the graduates parents and grandparents who could be identified the family origin. Was noticed the use of marriage strategy, of friendship and political loyalty as resources to maintain and acquire social status or relevant jobs. Some careers' patterns were perceived too among the group: around seventeen percent were military; twenty-five percent were teachers in EEPA; seventy percent were in government jobs, comprehended here as the jobs in public administration and political jobs. Yet there was a group of graduates that had jobs outside the government sphere, the EEPA or the army, working most of the time in private companies or teaching in others institutions. These careers suffered changes, therefore the same individual could have been army, teacher and had a government job. In general, can be said that the EEPA is an elite maker institution, and the affinity bonds between the institution and the PRR spread even amongst the graduates. That is demonstrated mainly through the jobs of those professionals in the public state administration, especially in the Secretariat of Public Works, and in cities as the City Engineer and Managers