A short spring before the long winter: a historical cartography of Brazilian culture before the 1964 coup d’état

Autores

  • Marcos Napolitano

Resumo

This article presents a critical cartography of Brazilian culture between 1955 and 1964, a crucial period for the emergence and affirmation of ideological, aesthetic andcultural values that marked the vigorous cultural scene in Brazil. That scene had at itscore the formulation of projects shaped by engagement in the construction of a modernand socially integrated Brazil. The intellectual and artistic movements of the period triedto address the dilemmas and predicaments of Brazilian backwardness by attempting toinfluence state policies designed to overcome “underdevelopment”. My starting point isthat the cultural scene of that time referred to certain elements of modernism, such asthe search for national identity and the role of intellectuals as protagonists, and helpedto prepare the “cultural hegemony” of the national-popular left after the 1964 coup. Thearticle discusses the specific historicity of artistic-cultural projects and maps the variouscurrents that shaped Brazilian cultural life during this key moment, which provided aspecific intertwining of politics and culture.

Keywords: Brazil: cultural history, Brazil: culture and politics, intellectual commitment.

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Publicado

2014-12-30

Edição

Seção

Dossiê: A ditadura brasileira: história e historiografia