Between the home and the street

reading practices in the province of Minas Gerais (1828-1842)

Abstract

This article focuses on the various reading practices in the province of Minas Gerais from 1828 through 1842. In this period we can notice a hybrid situation in which reading practices were entangled with the permanence and the change inherent to the local cultural landscape. On the one hand, there was continuity in the appeal to oral practices in the shaping of social discourses and in reading practices themselves. On the other hand, there was a breach towards a more critical, collective and extensive reading practice. During this period Minas Gerais abounded in printed production which varied in size, format and genre. Moreover, the publications from the local press found their way into the most diverse spaces such as homes, taverns, political and literary societies, and the town square. In so doing, we traverse the various places of reading and highlight the dynamics of spaces and their shaping of novel forms of socialization.