Banca de DEFESA: João Francisco Schramm

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : João Francisco Schramm
DATE: 28/09/2022
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: PPGHIS
TITLE:

The limits of the imponderable: unidentified flying objects in the political history of Brazil (1945-1969)

KEY WORDS:

UFOs, Armed Forces, Cold War, Cultural War

PAGES: 343
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:

This thesis has as its theme to investigate how UFOs (unidentified flying objects) mobilized the Armed Forces, the State and Brazilian society. In order to better clarify the research proposal, we will present a balance of the current state of the art of academic research related to the topic, with the aim of highlighting an integrative epistemological proposal. In addition, in the form of a thematic and introductory research, we will present a chronological research of the Brazilian Air Force sources present in the “UFO fund” of the National Archives, by highlighting the central aspects of an institutional political history, in a long-term perspective. Continuing with these introductory studies, we will emphasize the central aspects of the first military sources on UFOs that occurred during the Second World War, opening space, then, for an investigation of the historical context present in the emergence of the “flying saucers” as a modern cultural entity in 1947 in the USA. On the other hand, in Brazil, we will discuss how the press, the State and the Armed Forces dealt with the most relevant cases of the 1950s, in view of the special power of the press in creating false scenarios about flying saucers, photographs that mobilized the entire national society. We will then discuss how during the early years of the space race and at the height of atomic testing, UFO-related events came to include disparate situations such as “alien abduction” and “contact experiences”, going far beyond mere UFO sightings in the skies. Therefore, the research will highlight the story of the “first Brazilian contactee”, a writer who led a sect that associated flying saucers with biblical events and the Cold War. In this case, we will highlight his special relationship as a government informant, in addition to executing atypical psychological warfare operations, in the form of false flag terrorist attacks, events that took place in the troubled period that preceded the de facto dictatorial regime, on December 13, 1968. Finally, the research will open space for possible connections between the events investigated in the chapters, under the prism of concepts such as “cultural manipulation”, “creation of false scenarios” and “psychological warfare” etc. In addition, the cases and arguments presented throughout the thesis will now be inserted into a comprehensive reflection, counting on theoretical contributions from the current state of the art of specialized research on the subject, in view of the possible contributions that this study has to offer to human sciences.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - CARLOS ALBERTO MACHADO - UNICENTRO
Interno - 1714125 - CARLOS EDUARDO VIDIGAL
Externo à Instituição - CARLOS HUGO STUDART CORRÊA
Interno - 1644442 - DANIEL BARBOSA ANDRADE DE FARIA
Interno - 2308048 - VIRGILIO CAIXETA ARRAES