Women and extensionist formation in the Viçosa College of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (1920s-1930s)

Abstract

The present study had to analyze female participation in extension actions at the School of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (ESAV) in the 1920s and 1930s. Created in 1920, in the city of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, the ESAV had its pillars linked to the practical teaching and extension, but aimed at the male audience. In this context, the first decades of the 20th century in Brazil were marked by a process of redefinition of women's spaces, which impacted public life and access to education. Joining the interests in extension and the changes of the period, we observed that the ESAV extension courses constituted an important possibility of training for the female audience, even if they were aimed at professionalization for the home. To meet the stated objectives, we resorted to different institutional documents: annual reports, internal regulations, official messages and newspapers.