As Sociedades Teosóficas e a Maçonaria Mista: espiritualidade e poder em Pelotas no princípio do século XX (1902-1939).

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine the institutions of mixed Masonry and theosophy in the city of Pelotas in the early twentieth century, period of formation and fairly fruitful development in relation to other regions of Rio Grande do Sul. With regard to the organizations studied, it is noted that its origins date back to France in 1875 - mixed Masonry entitled "Le Droit Humain", and the United States of America in 1893, named the International Theosophical Society. The analysis of this research focuses primarily on the documents of those institutions, which are part of the collection of the Masonic Museum Rocco Felippe. From a methodology that is based on a case study, it is proposed to check how institutions survived in the local society, permeated by the core tenets, while they developed different forms of political and social action, especially in the face of situations and practices from the moment it was in the state during the Old Republic. Thus, we intend to understand the relationship of the institutions with the Republican Party and its positivists implications, women's participation in the foundation of these institutions and their representations in local and regional level, the construction of identities and the relations of powers.