Social Theorists
Gilberto Freyre
Sociology
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Gilberto Freyre (1900-1987) was a Brazilian sociologist and writer whose 1933 book Casa-Grande e Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves) reinterpreted Brazilian national identity through the lens of the plantation household, arguing that the intimate mixing of Portuguese colonizers, enslaved Africans and indigenous peoples produced a distinctively Brazilian culture. He developed the theory of lusotropicalism, holding that Portuguese colonizers were unusually adaptable to and productive of racial and cultural mixture in the tropics, a claim that shaped Brazil's official self-image as a racial democracy even as later scholars challenged it for minimizing the violence of slavery and racism. His sociology combined historical, anthropological and literary method and remains one of the most influential and contested accounts of Brazilian society.
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Birth DateSourced to the subject's own account Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account Death DateSourced to the subject's own account Death YearSourced to the subject's own account BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own accountRecife, Pernambuco, Brazil 1 Death PlaceSourced to the subject's own accountRecife, Pernambuco, Brazil 1 Nationality / CultureSourced to the subject's own account Defining ContributionSourced to the subject's own accountDeveloped the theory of lusotropicalism and authored Casa-Grande e Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves, 1933), a foundational sociological study reinterpreting Brazilian identity through the lens of racial and cultural mixture. 1 Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountCasa-Grande e Senzala / The Masters and the Slaves (1933) 1 Sources
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