Drawing the otherness: The life of a young immigrant in Brazil (Curitiba, late 19th century)

Abstract

The purpose of this article based on a re-reading of Gustav HermannStrobel’s (1851-1933) memoirs is to discuss the concept and formationof German-Brazilian (Deutschbrasilianertum) ethnicities, taking intoaccount the construction of a social group of German and Lutheran-Evangelic origin, in Curitiba, during the second half of the 19th centuryand first half of the 20th. It also aims at discussing how, regardlessof geographic isolation, daily contact with “the other” in the ruralenvironment also constitutes an ethnicity factor. Implied in theconclusion is an invitation to the development of further comparativeresearch based on social and historically different local analyses.