Gioconda Mussolini (15 November 1913 – 29 May 1969) was a Brazilian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

. She was a professor at the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

, where she taught

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

from 1938 and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

from 1944. In the postwar period, she was one of the first women along with Egon Schaden to receive a doctoral degree in anthropology in Brazil.

Biography

Born in the Bom Retiro neighborhood, in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil, on 15 November 1913, Gioconda Mussolini was the third of seven daughters of Italian immigrant Umberto Mussolini, who arrived in Brazil from

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

in 1888, and his Brazilian wife Adalgisa Vieiga. She attended primary school at Regente Feijó and Sao Paulo between 1922 and 1926. In 1929, she enrolled at the Padre Anchieta Normal School, where she graduated as a primary school teacher in 1931. As part of this training, between 1933 and 1934, she further completed a continuing education program for primary school teachers at Caetano de Campos Institute of Education in Praça da República. She later started her professional career as a school teacher and briefly taught in the public school system in the rural district of

Jacupiranga Jacupiranga is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 17,889 (2020 est.) in an area of 704 km². The elevation is 33 m. The municipality contains part of the Rio Turvo State Park, created in 2008. See also * ...

. In 1935, she was admitted at the newly created school of philosophy, sciences and letters at the University of São Paulo which offered improvement course in social sciences for the primary school teachers. After the completion of the course in 1937, she was invited to join as a research assistant at the Chair of Sociology, then chaired by Paul Arbousse Bastide, a French philosopher. In 1938, she began in teaching of sociology at the University of São Paulo. Between 1941 and 1945, she also studied for a master's degree in anthropology at the school of sociology and politics, University of São Paulo under the guidance of

Herbert Baldus Herbert Baldus (Wiesbaden, March 14, 1899 - São Paulo, October 24, 1970) was a German-born Brazilian ethnologist. He lectured in Brazilian Ethnology at the Free School of Sociology and Politics in São Paulo from 1939 to 1960, and later headed ...

, a German anthropologist. In 1944, a year before obtaining her Master's degree in anthropology, she was appointed as the Chair of anthropology, created in 1941 and earlier headed by Emilio Willems, a German ethnologist. She died in São Paulo on May 28, 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mussolini, Gioconda 1913 births 1969 deaths Brazilian anthropologists 20th-century Brazilian women scientists Brazilian people of Italian descent University of São Paulo alumni Academic staff of the University of São Paulo Brazilian women sociologists