FGV CPDOC receives archives of Maria Isaura de Queiroz, prominent Brazilian social scientist

On the eve of International Women’s Day, Fundação Getulio Vargas’ School of Social Sciences (FGV CPDOC) received the personal archives of Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz (1918-2018), one of Brazil’s most prominent social scientists. They will join another 16 sets of personal archives of women in FGV CPDOC’s collection.

Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz

Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz graduated from the University of Sao Paulo in 1949 and then worked as an assistant to Roger Bastide in the sociology department. In the early 1950s, she studied in Paris, and in 1960 she began to lecture at the University of Sao Paulo. She was the first women to receive the title of professor emeritus from the university’s School of Philosophy, Science and Literature.

Her personal archives are composed of text documents, audiovisual files, photos and other printed materials. They reflect a vast, systematic and original academic output, including documents about courses taught by Roger Bastide and Antônio Cândido, records of her academic research from throughout her career, and records of her activities at the University of Sao Paulo, focusing on activities at its Center for Rural and Urban Studies, of which she was the founder. The archives also include a variety of correspondence and documents about awards she received during her career, such as Brazil’s highest scientific award, the Admiral Álvaro Alberto Award, granted by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), as well as the prestigious Jabuti literary prize.

The new acquisition is the result of FGV CPDOC’s work in identifying and sharing records of the activities of Brazilian women in the country’s political, scientific and academic scenes. “Our goal is to highlight the stories and achievements of Brazilian women. Since 2020, FGV CPDOC, in partnership with the University of Sao Paulo, the National Archives and the Moreira Salles Institute, has maintained the Women’s Archives Network,” explains Carolina Alves, the coordinator of FGV CPDOC’s Personal Archives Program. This material will be cataloged, scanned and made available to the public for consultation.

The other women’s archives relate to Delminda Aranha, Luiza Aranha, Rosalina Coelho Lisboa, Hermínia Collor, Hilda Machado, Niomar Moniz Sodré, Almerinda Farias Gama, Alzira Vargas do Amaral Peixoto, Celina Vargas do Amaral Peixoto, Anna Amélia de Queiroz Carneiro de Mendonça, Yvonne Maggie, Luiza Erundina, Silvia Escorel, Alba Zaluar, Mariza Peirano and Carlota Pereira de Queiroz. Of the 17 women’s archives maintained by FGV CPDOC, 10 are available here.

FGV CPDOC

FGV CPDOC was founded in 1973. Its collection is made up 229 sets of personal archives, totaling more than 2 million documents. Organizing these archives and making all of them available to the public via the Accessus online system are key tasks for the center.