The modernity of the idea of culture in modernist Brazil

Abstract

The article discusses the history of the Brazilian incorporation of the concept of "culture," drawing on the controversy between Gilberto Freyre and Oliveira Viana. We argue that its hegemonization, dating from the early 20th century, was a response to the contradictions posed by the formation of the Brazilian state and the country’s late capitalist modernization. In this context, the concept of culture began to gain relevance through references to the German intellectual tradition, gradually replacing the notion of "civilization" as the key to understanding Brazilian social dynamics. In this process, Freyre played a decisive role: he articulated the concept of culture with the racial issue, distinguishing it from its European origins and consolidating its centrality in the Brazilian public debate.