THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE OF FLORESTAN FERNANDES¹

A ATUALIDADE DE FLORESTAN FERNANDES

Abstract

The article proposes to rethink the work of Florestan Fernandes at the intersection of the texts on ‘national formation,’ certain analytic references originating from the sociology of culture, and studies of Brazilian social thought. From this perspective, it emphasizes the cultural dimensions of the author’s sociological output, based on his analysis of the constitution of modern values in peripheral societies like Brazil’s. Finally it revisits his contribution through the filter of the crisis of contemporary Brazil, seeking to elucidate questions intrinsic to our own era.

Keywords Florestan Fernandes; crisis of contemporary Brazil; national formation; sociology of culture; Brazilian social thought