Health, hygiene and nutrition in Mexican school manuals from the sixties of the 20th century

Abstract

In this paper we analyze health and hygiene topics provided in the free, unique and compulsory textbooks that circulated in Mexico in the sixties during the 20th century. For this, we trace some lines of context that allow us to insert the book and the subject that concerns us in its production logics: the conceptions of childhood, the location of health and school in the concerns of the federal government and the importance of the books for the nation project. Then we follow two lines to analyze the matters of health and hygiene: the material layout of the book, its content and images. We found a connection between informative and prescriptive discourse through which it was sought to modify the conceptions and health and hygiene practices of both children and their families and communities. This model is consistent with the medical discourse promoted in health institutions, it recreates gender differences between boys and girls, articulates knowledge with individual and collective hygiene practices, and favors the lifestyles of the urban middle class.