"Elementary notions of hygiene" a school book by Luis E. Ruiz, (1888)

Abstract

This article aims to explain the importance which hygiene had for the intellectual elites of the Porfiriato in the 19th century, specifically toward the end of the decade of 1880 and during the decade of 1890. For this end, the analysis focuses on a particular school textbook in which the basic knowledge about hygiene and the body were represented in a broad and clear way. The textbook was published in 1888 and the author was the physician and intellectual Luis Enrique Ruiz (1853-1914). At the time of the publication of this textbook, hygiene was considered a relevant element of society; with it, it was possible to avoid illnesses which could lead to epidemics. Meanwhile, scholar hygiene was integrated to the curriculum of Normal Schools after the Instruction Congresses from 1889-1890 and 1890-1891. Teachers would learn the basic notions of hygiene and, in this way, they would transmit to their students the basic elements about personal cleanliness and household cleaning.