Alfredo Bosi (26 August 1936 – 7 April 2021) was a Brazilian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, literary critic, and professor. He was a member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (''Brazilian Academy of Letters''), occupying Chair number 12. One of his most famous books is ''História Concisa da Literatura Brasileira'' (''Brief History of Brazilian Literature''), widely used in Brazilian universities in literature courses. Bosi also wrote several studies about

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

and about major Brazilian writers as well as essays on the field of

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...

Life

Alfredo Bosi was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

on 26 August 1936. He was married to psychologist Ecléa Bosi, with whom he had two children. His daughter, Viviana Bosi is also an accomplished literary critic. Bosi majored in

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...

in 1960 and studied in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

later on. He then took the chair of

at the same university, an office he would hold until 1970, when he became professor of

Brazilian literature Brazilian literature is the literature written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, including works written prior to the country's independence in 1822. Throughout its early years, literature from Brazil followed the literary t ...

. Bosi occupied the Brazilian Chair of Sociological Sciences

Sérgio Buarque de Holanda Sérgio Buarque de Holanda (July 11, 1902 – April 24, 1982) was a Brazilian historian, writer, journalist and sociologist. His greatest achievement was Raízes do Brasil, a landmark of Brazilian sociology, in which he developed the groundbr ...

at the

Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Maison des Sciences de l'Homme also known as MSH a is a research foundation based in Paris, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, ...

and was deputy-director of Institute for Advanced Researches of the University of São Paulo from 1987 to 1997, when he became director of the organization. Amongst other prizes, he was awarded the

Jabuti Prize The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shel ...

for best

human sciences Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our ...

work in 1993 for ''Dialética da Colonização'' (''Dialectics of Colonization'') and in 2000, for best essay, awarded to his work ''Machado de Assis. O Enigma do Olhar'' (''Machado de Assis. The Puzzle of the Eye''). Bosi died on 7 April 2021, in

, of COVID-19.

Selected bibliography

*''Itinerario della Narrativa Pirandelliana'' (1964) (Doctoral Thesis) *''O Pré-Modernismo'' (1966) (''Brazilian Pre-Modernism'') *''O Ser e o Tempo da Poesia'' (1977) (''The Time and the Being of Poetry) *''Céu, Inferno. Ensaios de Crítica Literária e Ideológica'' (1988) (''Heaven, Hell. Essays of Literary and Ideological Criticism'') *''Dialética da Colonização'' (1992) (''Dialectics of Colonization'') *''Machado de Assis. O Enigma do Olhar'' (1999) (''Machado de Assis. The Puzzle of the Eye'') *''Literatura e Resistência'' (2002) (''Literature and Resistance'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosi, Alfredo 1936 births 2021 deaths Brazilian literary historians Brazilian literary critics Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil) People from São Paulo University of São Paulo alumni Hermeneutists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in São Paulo (state)