Sociology In Brazil

This book provides an overview of the institutional and intellectual development of sociology in Brazil from the early 1900s to the present day; through military coups, dictatorships and democracies. It charts the profound impact of sociology on Brazilian public life and how, in turn, upheavals in the history of the country and its universities affected its scientific agenda. This engaging account highlights the extent of the discipline’s colonial inheritance, its early institutionalization in São Paulo, and its congruent rise and fall during repeated regime changes. The authors’ analysis draws on original research that maps the concentration of research interests, new developments, publications and centers of production in Brazilian sociology, using qualitative and quantitative data. It concludes with a reflection on the potential impact of the recent far-right turn in Brazilian politics on the future of the discipline. This book contributes a valuable country study to the history of sociology and will appeal to a range of social scientists in addition to scholars of disciplinary historiography, intellectual and Brazilian history.

"Institutional frameworks, political action, social and political identities, class relations, social inertia and path dependence are the main aspects inquired in this book. Taken together, the chapters present a coherent and systematic portrait of Brazil, or a plausible point of view about the dynamics of our sociability which may interest the foreign reader. Collective bargaining, labour inspection, the labour and capital organizations are all elements of the Getulio Vargas legacies that, albeit with adaptations over time, still impinge upon our present. For that reason, it is impossible to understand what we are without looking back and trying and reconstruct the trajectories of the current institutions, social and political actors, and even the economy. As a consequence, most of the chapters adopt a historical sociological perspective, in dialogue between the contemporary context and the country’s vivid historiography."

This book intends to familiarise the reader with the political and sociological thought of Florestan Fernandes, covering the range of his research themes and socialist militancy between the 1940s and 1990s. Considered the founding father of sociology in Brazil, Florestan Fernandes’ work is essential for an understanding of the historical and political dilemmas of Brazilian and Latin American societies. His main themes encompass research on folklore, indigenous peoples, race relations between blacks and whites, sociological theory, education, underdevelopment, dependence, Latin American dictatorships and the Brazilian “re- democratization” after 1980, providing a new interpretation of Latin America from the point of view of the lumpen social strata. Following Mannheim’s inspiration, the present work is inserted in the field of sociology of knowledge. It takes an original approach to the ideas of Florestan Fernandes based on the notion of a lumpen thought style. This book is a key resource for readers learning about the history of the social sciences in Latin America, and about the political dilemmas of Latin American societies.

Monteiro.--John A. Coleman "Theological Studies"

This book presents a kaleidoscopic view of the multidisciplinary field of research developed within Brazilian social sciences to study football as a major cultural and social phenomenon in the country. As a contributed volume, it brings together chapters authored by researchers from different disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, political science, history, geography, economy, communication studies and physical education, who contributed to make Brazilian football a multifaceted object of study for the human and social sciences. The book is divided in four parts. The first two parts are dedicated to the "classic" areas, in which the best known research lines are concentrated: part one focuses on politics and history, while part two is dedicated to sociology and anthropology. The third part brings together studies from other four different areas: communication studies, geography, economy and physical education. The fourth part is organized not by disciplines, but around transversal themes, such as gender, violence, fans and racism. The varied approaches and different interpretations brought together in this book seek to provide an overview of the fertile academic debate that has stimulated the renewal of scientific research on football in Brazil, which makes Football and Social Sciences in Brazil a useful resource for researchers from different disciplines within the human and social sciences interested in the study of football as major cultural and social phenomenon all over the world.

This is the first book published in English to present a concise but panoramic overview of the social, economic and political roots of the current Brazilian crisis. By situating former president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment in the wider context of the historical struggle for social rights, citizenship and democracy in the country, the book provides a conceptual framework that will allow foreign readers to better understand the apparent contradiction of a rising regional power that all of a sudden entered in one of the worst economic, social and political crisis of its history. This book will be of interest to a wide range of social scientists (such as sociologists, economists, historians and political scientists) interested in labor and citizenship issues in developing countries like Brazil, as well as for social agents (from the public and private spheres) with practical involvement with such issues, such as trade unionists, leaders and advisors of business organizations, policy-makers, politicians, NGO activists and technicians.

This volume is a critical inquiry into the social project and socioeconomic realities of emerging Brazil, a country that faces profound changes. A team of acknowledged specialists on Brazil’s complex configuration addresses state policies, social dynamics and economic constraints and opportunities for emancipation. Chapters adopt long-run perspectives on the development of the Brazilian welfare state, limits and opportunities for emancipation in the labor market, the scope and depth of social policies such as "Bolsa Família" and Rio’s Peacemaking Police Units (UPP), social movements - in particular, the Movement of the Landless (MST) - cultural policies at the federal level, the role of media in the country’s democratization project, and how two important commodities (sugar and oil) shape the identities of blacks and whites in Bahia. This book is essential reading for all those interested in understanding what kind of Brazil has acquired a prominent global position and what hurdles it faces to consolidate its position as a global player.