ABA 1955-1964: the emergence of the scope of activity of the Brazilian Anthropological Association

• Grant number: 22/03351-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: March 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Luís Felipe Bueno Sobral
• Grantee: Isabella Grizotti Trevine
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/05567-5 - Historiography of anthropology, AP.JP

Abstract

Founded in 1955, during the II Brazilian Anthropological Meeting (in Salvador), by the commission composed by Álvaro Fróes da Fonseca, Edgard Roquette Pinto, Arthur Ramos and Heloisa Alberto Torres, the Brazilian Anthropological Association (ABA) is one of the biggest and oldest scientific associations in Brazil. Its scope of activity is quite wide. On the one hand, ABA consists of a forum for academic discussion in the field of anthropology, where all the issues related to ethical conditions in which the anthropological research is executed are included. On the other hand, its activities are noteworthy in the sphere of public policy related to education, social action and human rights defense. In that sense, the fundamental intercession between the indigenous societies and the State, guaranteeing their rights in the Constitution, stands out. Nevertheless, little is known about the initial years of ABA, from its foundation to the military coup in 1964, a period in which its scope of activity started to take place. In that sense, the archive of the Association offers a valuable corpus of information that is still almost unexplored. Conserved in the AEL, to which it was donated during the management of Mariza Corrêa (1996-1998) on behalf of the "History of Anthropology in Brazil Project", this archive is composed of textual and iconographic documents (maps, posters, illustrations, drawings) referring not only to ABA's institutional activities but also to feedbacks and reports written by others. Therefore, with a vertical analysis of the documents in the archive, it will be possible to deepen our knowledge about this important period in the history of this association, making a valuable contribution to the history of anthropology in Brazil in the mid-20th century, a moment that is barely studied. (AU)