Brazilian Sociology Research Articles

United in difference: on the vocation of Brazilian sociology at the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro, 1973-1977

This article investigates the first generation (1973-1977) of researchers trained in the Graduate Program in Sociology at the Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro (IUPERJ). While IUPERJ is known as the birthplace of modern Brazilian political science, sociology there is less well known. Using documentary resources, interviews, and the secondary literature, we take a nuanced look at this generation, which has been described as both excessively heterogeneous and less original in comparison to political science at IUPERJ. For them, theoretical and methodological specialization was seen as central to a political sociology that sought responses to the demands of a society at the crossroads between modernization and redemocratization.

Making a Brazilian New Deal: Oliveira Vianna and the Transnational Sources of Brazil's Corporatist Experiment

This article explores the legal writings of Brazilian sociologist and jurist Francisco José de Oliveira Vianna to reveal the global context that shaped Brazil's corporatist experiment in the 1930s. From the Labour Ministry, Oliveira Vianna was at the forefront of legal and political debates over how to create corporatist laws and institutions. He was often cast as an authoritarian and retrograde thinker, yet this article looks beyond those categories to examine how his engagement with the US New Deal inserted corporatism into global debates over the role of the state in economic recovery and social welfare.

Relendo a teoria sociológica brasileira à luz da crítica pós-colonial

Abstract The article discusses to what extent sociological theories produced in the Brazilian academic field dialogue with a global intellectual movement criticizing coloniality and the Eurocentric foundations of the social sciences. Initially, we analyze the challenges regarding the attempts to define two theoretical approaches, Brazilian sociology, and Postcolonial Thought, without overlooking their internal heterogeneities. Then, we address the tensions between these approaches as conditions for research agendas that bring both contributions into proximity. Finally, we explore the epistemological potential of one of these agendas, which corresponds to a rereading of Brazilian sociological theory in light of postcolonial criticism. This exercise in rereading the canon is based on the methodological program of sociological reduction of Guerreiro Ramos, which indicates a reciprocal interrogation between Brazilian sociology and postcolonial thought, i.e., a decentered look at our sociological tradition that also reveals contributions from this tradition for the future of postcolonial epistemologies.

Jessica Lynn Graham. Shifting the Meaning of Democracy: Race, Politics, and Culture in the United States and Brazil.

Ever since its coining by Brazilian sociologist Arthur Ramos in 1941, the concept of “racial democracy” has been closely tied to questionable but durable comparisons between the United States and Brazil. Over the course of the twentieth century, numerous authors explicitly contrasted Brazil’s proclamations of racial harmony and egalitarianism to the United States’ bitter racial conflicts and persistent inequality. Among the many contributions of Jessica Graham’s book is to show that Brazil was not alone in proclaiming itself a racial democracy. In response to the global crises of the 1930s and 1940s, the United States did so as well, and in language remarkably similar to that used in Brazil. Nor were those resemblances accidental. Shifting the Meaning of Democracy: Race, Politics, and Culture in the United States and Brazil shows how their shared struggles against communism and fascism pushed both countries in the direction of adopting racial inclusion as a core national value and a guiding principle of state policy.

Citizenship Learning: justifications for human rights education, religion education, philosophy and sociology in Brazil (1987/2006)

Resumo Analisamos propostas de conteúdos educacionais e disciplinas escolares elaboradas no Brasil no período entre os anos de 1987 e 2006, com destaque para educação em direitos humanos, ensino religioso, filosofia e sociologia. Procuramos identificar justificativas para a institucionalização destes conhecimentos, especialmente o modo como foram relacionados ao que chamamos de “aprendizagem da cidadania”. Os documentos que foram fonte desta análise pertencem aos acervos da Comissão Justiça e Paz de São Paulo, da Câmara de Deputados, do Senado Federal e do Conselho Federal de Educação e compreendem esboço de propostas, projetos de lei, relatórios e pareceres. Analisamos ainda textos oficiais, livros e manuais que compõem a produção das agências e agentes favoráveis à rotinização dos referidos conhecimentos. Esperamos contribuir para a análise das expectativas de democratização no Brasil interpelando processos de formulação das finalidades educacionais de certos conteúdos referidos às “humanidades”.

A AGENDA DE PESQUISA DA SOCIOLOGIA BRASILEIRA DO INÍCIO DO MILÊNIO

Abstract Many works have sought to define the research agenda of Brazilian sociology, its temporal evolution, and other internal and external dynamics. However, the methods employed in the thematic classification of the discipline are still rudimentary. To adress this issue, this article applied text processing techniques, particularly Topic Modelling, to analyze over 3 thousand doctoral theses published at the beginning of the millennium. The results indicate that our “new” sociology is characterized by a relative decline in the importance of traditional themes, such as studies on labor, in favor of more diverse topics, such as violence and gender. These transformations seem to reflect guidelines from funding agencies and changes in public debate, posing new challenges on the horizon of the discipline.

A cientometria na caracterização do campo da Sociologia no Brasil

O presente artigo discute, no espectro das metodologias quantitativas, as abordagens cientométricas orientadas e aplicadas ao campo científico da Sociologia no Brasil. A partir da análise da produção bibliográfica e da trajetória acadêmica da coorte dos docentes vinculados aos Programas de Pós-graduação avaliados na área de Sociologia pela CAPES – docentes ativos em 2020 –, o artigo expõe limites e oportunidades dos caminhos analíticos referentes aos estudos métricos da ciência, destacando as “boas práticas” da cientometria e a função instrumental dessa metodologia. Os materiais utilizados foram os registros bibliográficos coletados nos bancos de dados Scopus e Plataforma Lattes da população acadêmica selecionada. Os resultados alcançados discutem o próprio fazer cientométrico e a construção de alguns indicadores que podem ser mais adequados à compreensão da dinâmica do campo científico da Sociologia.

Entre a ciência e a política: Donald Pierson e a busca por uma sociologia científica no Brasil

Abstract This paper analyzes the political dimension embedded in the work of the American sociologist Donald Pierson in Brazil. A former student of Robert Park at the University of Chicago, Pierson played a major role in the institutionalization of the social sciences in Brazil from the 1930s through the 1950s. While Pierson’s intellectual ambitions were centered on an academic agenda and he defended a strict division between science and politics, we argue that a proper historical understanding of his endeavor can only be achieved through an analysis of his underlying assumptions about the nature of both science and society – assumptions that were rooted in a reformist, liberal-democratic understanding of the world. To bring to light these values, we examine two key moments in Pierson’s career: 1) his doctoral research on race relations in Bahia, done in the mid-1930s; 2) his efforts to promote the field of sociology in Brazil during the Good Neighbor Policy and World War II, when he was hired to teach at the São Paulo School of Sociology and Politics.

Book Review of: Sociology in Brazil, A Brief Institutional and Intellectual History

How to tell the history of sociology in a peripheral country? Moreover, how to do it in a country as vast and complex as Brazil? This is a very difficult challenge to perform. Cordeiro and Neri´s book, Sociology in Brazil, published by Palgrave- Pivot in Sociology Transformed Series, was able to pull it off, though. The book aims to make an integrative reconstruction of sociology in Brazil during a time that dates back to almost 130 years ago. The volume deserves to be read since it gives a brief but prolific analytical description of intellectual and institutional development of the discipline in that country. In addition, this historical account offers a reinterpretation of home traditional narratives from a perspective that combines cognitive and institutional factors. So, it aims to achieve a comprehensive narration of the dispute among local sociological traditions, institutions from different cities and regions and also local key intellectual figures.

As marcas da sociologia de Bourdieu no Brasil: da chegada ao atual reconhecimento

  This study aims to analyze the trajectory of Pierre Bourdieu’s sociology in Brazil, from its intellectual reception to the current situation in the references in the scientific field. There were three periods: the time of its arrival, in the 1970s; the incomprehension and resistance, in the following decade; which followed, in the years 1980-1990, to its scientific recognition and academic consecration. More than three decades later, the continuity of its influence using its sociological concepts was investigated. The methodology used was content analysis of primary and secondary sources: the author’s own representative bibliography, published widely in Brazil, and writings of his main interlocutors in the country. To analyze the persistence of Bourdieu’s theory in the decade 2010-2020, a bibliometric study of references to his works and concepts in the areas of social sciences, education, humanities and communication was carried out. The information was compiled from the Portal de Periódicos da CAPES and the Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações. It was shown that, even though it is still concentrated in universities in São Paulo, we currently observe a decentralization of references to Bourdieu’s sociology to other states, in number of dissertations and theses. The indicators of scientific articles showed a small decrease in references to Bourdieu’s works and concepts, while the indicators of theses and dissertations indicated an increase. These results of scientific dissemination and post-graduation show that the academic influence and prestige of Bourdieu’s sociology remains remarkable in Brazil.

Cleansing Macau's Image as the ‘Wickedest City in the World’: Eurasia,Long Way, and Luso-tropical film production in Macau in the 1950s

AbstractThis article discusses the Eurasia Film Company (hereafter Eurasia), which was established in Macau in 1954; the making of its filmLong Way, released in 1955; and more generally the issue of film production in Macau in the 1950s. This was a period of crisis for Portugal: despite the beginning of decolonization in the post-war era, the regime's policy was to preserve the colonies. It appropriated ‘Luso-tropicalism’, a theory developed by Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre, which argued that the Portuguese had created a harmonious hybrid civilization in the ‘tropics’ through biological and cultural miscegenation. Luso-tropicalism became a major propaganda tool used by Portugal to deflect decolonization. Eurasia, which had links to the colonial government, presented a Luso-tropical ideal not only in terms of the content of the filmLong Waywhich celebrated interracial love but also by its very nature—it was a Sino-Portuguese enterprise that also had Eurasians as shareholders—and in its production method. Its main objective was to propagate a positive image of Macau, in response to its pervasive negative portrayal in the international press and films, which often characterized it as a centre of vice.Long Wayspecifically responded to Hollywood and French films set in Macau by using similar elements, plot, and characterization, but it transformed Orientalist tales of crime, smuggling, and sin into a Luso-tropical story of refuge, order, and interracial love. Eurasia aimed to cleanse Macau's image and thereby justify Portuguese sovereignty in the territory in a period of crisis and uncertainty marked by decolonization, the Cold War, and tense Sino-Portuguese relations.

A internacionalização da Sociologia brasileira

The article deals with the theme of internationalization in the Brazilian postgraduate scenario, while analyzing the area of Sociology through the academic exchange flows designed by master and doctoral students. The main objective of the text is to apprehend one of the angles of internationalization underway in Brazilian Sociology through two analytical categories, namely: the longitudinal increase of CAPES scholarships abroad and the destinations of students with a full doctorate, sandwich doctorate, full master and sandwich master from the graduate programs in the area. For this, we combine quantitative and qualitative approaches and stages of literature review, working with secondary data from the CAPES Georeferenced Information System and statistical and longitudinal analysis of the data. The study demonstrated important movements towards the consolidation of the international experience of graduate students as a crucial element for the establishment of: international research networks, dissemination of research carried out in Brazil, circulation in different continents and the recognition of Brazilian Sociology in the global scientific field.

A agenda de pesquisa sociológica no Brasil

Inserted in the tradition of research on the field of Brazilian Sociology, the present work aims to present a portrait of Sociology developed in the country from the thematic mapping of research developed in postgraduate programs based on research projects. For that, data obtained from the Sucupira Platform of CAPES on the research projects in force in 2018 of ten postgraduate programs were used. The criteria for the selection of these programs took into account: the regional distribution, the concept of CAPES evaluation and the year of creation. All research projects in force in 2018 were selected, making a total of 538 projects. From the counting of the most frequent words in the abstracts or the title, the projects were classified into 19 thematic categories. Based on this analysis, we verified the predominance of research on Social Theory, Culture and Politics. The research agenda and problems follow an internal logic of scientific development, which is associated with the social and regional problems of Brazilian society

A RECEPÇÃO DE PIERRE BOURDIEU NA SOCIOLOGIA DA EDUCAÇÃO BRASILEIRA

Resumo O alcance e a envergadura dos trabalhos de Pierre Bourdieu são atestados ao redor do mundo desde suas primeiras publicações na década de 1960, passando pelas traduções que suas obras receberam ao longo do tempo e também pela ampla apropriação que seus constructos teóricos, conceituais e metodológicos têm demonstrado em diferentes áreas do conhecimento por mais de cinco décadas. O presente artigo elege a sociologia da educação brasileira como espaço acadêmico privilegiado para analisar a recepção da obra de Bourdieu no Brasil, ocupando-se das condições de possibilidade da introdução e difusão de seu pensamento e das leituras da obra desse sociólogo que passaram a ser realizadas no país.

Florestan Fernandes: sociólogo e socialista

The purpose of this paper is to summarize Florestan Fernandes' life and work trajectory, emphasizing his dimensions as a sociologist and a socialist, revisiting his writings, his contributions to Brazilian sociology, his political and publicist militancy, his human integrity, and his tireless struggle for liberation of the oppressed and less equal and for the construction of socialism in Brazil and beyond. And we do this by (re)visiting a good part of his extensive work and of a group of renowned authors who have studied his bibliography and interacted with Florestan. The conclusions we have come to allowed us not only to describe the links between the sociologist and the socialist throughout his life and in part of his work, but also to note his unquestionable integrity and morality, his coherence and intellectual seriousness. Finally, what motivates me at this moment is both to pay homage to the greatest Brazilian social scientist in his birth centenary year and to instigate, by the example of his critical and militant sociology, that collectively we can respond to and face, in theory and in praxis, all the dilemmas that appear to us contemporaneously.

Covid-19 and doctoral research in Brazil and Portugal: who pays the bill for confinement and remote work in research?

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about several changes to doctoral programs due to the prohibition of face-to-face activities. This situation has generated many difficulties but has also facilitated research activities in Sociology in Brazil and Portugal. This essay discusses the changes introduced in sociological research and the main strategy found to overcome the difficulties – remote work – with the aim of raising questions for a research agenda on the subject. The notes and analyses presented here are produced from participant observation and full participation as an academic linked to three universities, where I had access to remote work data and operational notes issued by these universities during the pandemic. In these observations, I have identified that the professors, technicians and researchers pay the bill for remote work in the doctorate programs, and that the pandemic affects researchers unequally, depending on their gender, the stage of the course they are in, whether the academic relationship is national or foreign, whether they receive a scholarship or not, and whether they are at home or on student mobility.

Formação de Professores na Licenciatura em Educação do Campo: diálogos e desafios com Florestan Fernandes

O presente artigo busca desenvolver uma reflexão acerca da formação de educadores do campo cotejando com elaborações do Patrono da Sociologia Brasileira, conectadas em âmbito educacional e social na dinâmica da luta de classes. Chama a atenção para a gravidade e complexidade do atual momento sócio-histórico que põe em risco o futuro da humanidade. Apoiado em elaborações de Florestan Fernandes, e a partir de uma concepção de formação, discute ideias fundantes nos processos de formação de educadores, dentre elas o rigor teórico, o vínculo com processos e organizações populares do campo e da cidade e a necessidade do desenvolvimento ético e moral em uma perspectiva de transformação social e individual. Ao final apresenta um conjunto de desafios como parte integrante dos processos de formação de educadores do campo que necessariamente terão que ser enfrentados por nossa práxis formativa. 
 Palavras-Chaves: Formação de educadores. Educação do campo. Transformação social.

CIÊNCIA POLICIAL E A SÍNDROME DA RAINHA VERMELHA

O artigo se propõe a analisar a possibilidade do exercício pleno das atribuições correlatas às polícias militares por força da Constituição Cidadã de 1988, em especial no que pertine o poder de polícia administrativa como tratamento profilático à denominada “Síndrome da Rainha Vermelha”, expressão cunhada pelo sociólogo brasileiro Marcos Rolim como signo distintivo de ineficiência da atuação policial – em uma dicotomia entre o excesso de energia estatal gasto na repressão aos ilícitos penais e a inexistência de resultados práticos a demonstrar a diminuição de índices criminais. O trabalho foi desenvolvido através de pesquisa exploratória de abordagem qualitativa lastreado em pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais. O estudo demonstrou que atualmente existe um espectro de atuação das polícias militares pouco explorado no que tange ao poder de polícia administrativa (poder de polícia ostensiva) e que o preenchimento qualificado do referido vácuo de atuação estatal pode contribuir no âmbito da prevenção criminal, atuando como um bálsamo no tratamento da “Síndrome da Rainha Vermelha”.

Gazes from the South: The Tchiloli and the Work of René Tavares

Gazes from the South: The Tchiloli and the Work of René Tavares

O SENSO COMUM EM LIVROS DIDÁTICOS DE SOCIOLOGIA

Este artigo analisa a noção de senso comum nos livros didáticos de sociologia brasileira, que normalmente o aplicam na conceituação do que é ciência para delimitar o lugar da sociologia de um ponto de vista epistemológico e pedagógico. Foram analisados livros de sociologia que abordaram o termo “senso comum” e o explicaram, seja de maneira direta ou de maneira indireta. O resultado da pesquisa apontou que a definição indireta se baseia no zeitgeist hegeliano – pois concebe o senso comum como um bloco monolítico de pensamento que se opõe dualmente à ciência – e que a definição direta se baseia na revisão do conceito na filosofia – e o “transplante” dele para o livro didático de sociologia, dado que gera interessantes consequências também para o ensino de filosofia. No fim, refletimos sobre a retirada e a colocada da sociologia e da filosofia nos currículos escolares brasileiras com base no modo como o conceito de senso comum se configurou no corpus empírico analisado, buscando contribuir para e explicação desse fenômeno.