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 (
English ''Roots of Brazil''), a landmark of Brazilian sociology, in which he developed the groundbreaking concept of the "cordial man" as the fundamental Brazilian identity.
His son,
Chico Buarque de Holanda is an accomplished singer-songwriter and novelist and his daughter
Miúcha was also a famous singer. Buarque de Holanda was also a member of the ''
Academia Paulista de Letras''.
Life and career
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda was born on July 11, 1902, in São Paulo. At the age of nineteen, he moved with his family to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
. In the following year, he participated in the
Week of Modern Art, returning to
São Paulo
São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
for the event, later being nominated by
Mário de Andrade and
Oswaldo de Andrade the representative of the ''
Klaxon magazine'' in Rio de Janeiro.
In 1925, he earned the degree of
bachelor of law from the
Universidade do Brasil, today renamed as ''Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro''. In 1926, he moved to
Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, in
Espírito Santo, after being invited by the director of the newspaper ''O Progresso''. In the same year, he founded with
Prudente de Moraes Neto, the magazine ''Estética''.
He returned to Rio de Janeiro in 1927 and started to work as a columnist of the ''
Jornal do Brasil
''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the ''Diário de Pernambuco'' and ''O Esta ...
'' and as an employee of the
United Press Agency. Four years later, he traveled to Europe as a correspondent of the ''Diários Associados'' and settled in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where he met
Friedrich Meinecke.
He collaborated, in 1930, in the "Brasilianische Rundschau" magazine of the ''Conselho do Comércio Brasileiro de
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
o''. In 1936, back in
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, he worked at the
Universidade do Distrito Federal as assistant-teacher to
Henri Hauser in the chair of contemporary and modern history. He also taught
comparative literature
Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...
as an assistant to Professor Trouchon.
In 1936, Buarque de Holanda published his book ''Raízes do Brasil'', considered by many to be one of the most important books ever written in Brazil.
In 1939, when the Universidade do Distrito Federal was closed, Sergio Buarque de Holanda was invited by
Augusto Meyer to be the director of the publishing sector of the . Invited by the State Department sector of International Relations, he traveled in 1941 to the United States.
Three years later, he became the director of the Divisão de Consulta da
Biblioteca Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. In 1945, he participated of the Democratic Left foundation, and traveled to São Paulo to participate in the Writers' Congress. He was elected as a president of the Federal District Sector of the Brazilian Association of Writers.
In 1946, he moved to São Paulo, where he substituted for his ex-professor, Afonso Taunay, as director of the
Museu Paulista and, in 1947, he became professor of
Economic history of Brazil in the Escola de Sociologia e Política, substituting for
Roberto Simonsen.
He traveled to Paris for three
academic conferences
An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic or scientific journals a ...
at the
Sorbonne, in 1949 and, in 1952, Buarque de Holanda moved with his family to Italy, where he stayed for two years as visiting professor in the Brazilian Studies Department of
University of Rome.
In 1957, he received the Edgard Cavalheiro Prize from the Instituto Nacional do Livro after publishing the book "Caminhos e Fronteiras". He occupied in 1958, the chair of History of the Brazilian Civilization in the Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas of
University of São Paulo
The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil.
The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
(USP), with the thesis ''Visão do Paraíso – os motivos edênicos no descobrimento e na colonização do Brasil''.
He became in 1962 the first director of the Instituto de Estudos Brasileiros of
University of São Paulo
The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil.
The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
. From 1963 to 1967, he traveled as visiting professor to universities in Chile and the United States and participated in cultural missions in association with
Unesco
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
in Peru and
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
.
In 1969, he retired from his job as professor of USP in solidarity with his colleagues affected by the
AI-5
The Institutional Act Number Five (), commonly known as AI-5, was the fifth of seventeen extra-legal Institutional Acts issued by the Military dictatorship in Brazil, military dictatorship in the years following the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.
...
(see
Brazilian military dictatorship and
military dictatorship
A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...
). He also received the Governador do Estado Prize, in 1967, in the category of literature.
In 1979, he received, as the year's Brazilian Intellectual, the Juca Pato Prize. In the following year, Buarque de Holanda participated in the foundation of the
Workers' Party
Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
receiving the third membership card of the party.
[OGASSAWARA, Juliana Sayuri]
"Onde estão os intelectuais brasileiros"
'' Revista Fórum''. São Paulo: Editora Publisher, maio de 2009. Página 20.
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda died in São Paulo, on April 24, 1982, from pulmonary complications.
Partial bibliography
(By year of first ed.)
* ''
Raízes do Brasil''. Rio de Janeiro, 1936.
* ''
Cobra de Vidro''. São Paulo, 1944.
* ''
Monções''. Rio de Janeiro, 1945.
* ''Expansão Paulista em Fins do Século XVI e Princípio do Século XVII''. São Paulo, 1948.
* ''
Caminhos e Fronteiras''. Rio de Janeiro, 1957.
* ''
Visão do Paraíso. Os motivos edênicos no descobrimento e colonização do Brasil''. São Paulo, 1959.
* ''
Do Império à República''. São Paulo, 1972. (História Geral da Civilização Brasileira, Tomo II, vol. 5).
* ''
Tentativas de Mitologia''. São Paulo, 1979.
* ''Sergio Buarque de Hollanda: História'' (org. Maria Odila Dias). São Paulo, 1985.
* ''
O Extremo Oeste'' . São Paulo, 1986.
* ''O espírito e a letra'' (org. Antonio Arnoni do Prado) 2 vols. São Paulo, 1996.
* ''Para uma nova história'' (org. Marcos Costa). São Paulo, 2004 (collection of texts).
Family
Children:
Cristina Buarque,
Chico Buarque,
Miúcha and
Ana de Hollanda.
[Cristina Buarque]
/ref>
See also
* Jeitinho
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holanda, Sergio Buarque De
1902 births
1982 deaths
20th-century Brazilian historians
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro alumni
Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians
Writers from São Paulo
Journalists from São Paulo
Academic staff of the University of São Paulo
20th-century Brazilian male writers
20th-century Brazilian journalists