Modern Brazilian Historiography: Redemocratization, Cultural Turns, and Academic Maturation

The long process of redemocratization began in the 1980s, culminating in the return to civilian rule in 1985. Brazilians have since constructed a vibrant, if flawed, democratic system, now the world's third-largest democracy. The nation's demographic transformation is profound: from a largely rural, illiterate population of 17 million in 1900, Brazil grew to nearly 190 million by 2010, with over 85% urbanization and literacy. This shift toward mass politics initially coincided with hyperinflation, only stabilized in the late 1990s, and occurred alongside the continued expansion of a professional academic historical profession with graduate programs nationwide.

While still influenced by French historiography, Brazilian historians now engage deeply with scholarship from the United States and Latin America. The French "cultural turn" is evident in seminal works like Laura de Mello e Souza’s O Diabo na Terra de Santa Cruz (1986), which applies the history of mentalities to colonial Brazil. Similarly, the multi-volume História da Vida Privada no Brasil, coordinated by Fernando A. Novais, exemplifies this trend. The field of oral history has been advanced by scholars like José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy, reflecting fruitful international collaboration.

The proliferation of universities into state capitals and secondary cities has spurred an explosion of local and regional histories. Master's and doctoral research, heavily reliant on local archives, has deepened knowledge of traditional power centers and brought previously neglected regions into focus. The professionalization of the field is anchored by the Associação Nacional de História (ANPUH), founded in 1961, which publishes the prestigious Revista Brasileira de História and supports a vast network of state-level associations and journals.

In the last twenty years, biography has emerged as a major genre for both academic and public audiences, regularly featuring on best-seller lists. However, biographies of political figures often lack depth due to poor archival access, as Brazil lacks a system akin to U.S. presidential libraries. A prominent exception is the Centro de Pesquisa e Documentação de História Contemporânea do Brasil (CPDOC) in Rio de Janeiro, which houses crucial personal archives and oral histories. Historians at CPDOC, like Ângela de Castro Gomes, have been instrumental in reinvigorating political history.

Brazilian historiography remains overwhelmingly focused on national history, with comparatively few cross-national studies or works on international relations beyond ties with Portugal, Britain, or the United States. Since the 1980s, mirroring global trends, scholars have intensely focused on culture, identity, and politics. Influential works include José Murilo de Carvalho’s studies on citizenship, Sidney Chalhoub’s research on Rio de Janeiro, and Francisco Iglesias’s political histories, reflecting a move beyond earlier unifying narratives.

The field has reached a stage of impressive maturity and vibrancy. While informed by global trends, its principal debates are now fundamentally domestic. The community of historians working on Brazil is large and growing, though the profession remains intensely focused on national history. As universities continue to expand, Brazil will not only sustain high-quality national scholarship but will also likely broaden its scope to produce more world history in the coming decades.

TIMELINE/KEY DATES:
- 1889: Overthrow of the empire; beginning of the "First" or "Old Republic"
- 1930: Revolution brings Getúlio Vargas to power
- 1937: Vargas establishes the authoritarian Estado Novo (New State)
- 1945: End of Vargas dictatorship; start of democratic period
- 1956-61: Presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek
- 1960: Inauguration of Brasília

- 1961: Formation of the National Association of History Professors (ANPUH)
- 1964: Military coup begins two decades of dictatorship
- 1980: Creation of the Revista Brasileira de História
- 1985: Transition to civilian rule
- 1989: First direct presidential election since 1960
- 1994: Election of Fernando Henrique Cardoso
- 2002: Election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

KEY HISTORICAL SOURCES:
- Abreu, João Capistrano de, Capítulos de História Colonial (1982).
- Carone, Edgard, A República Velha (1970); Movimento Operário no Brasil, 3 vols. (1979-84).
- Carvalho, José Murilo de, A Construção da Ordem (1980); Os Bestializados (1987); Teatro de Sombras (1988); Nação e Cidadania no Império (2007).
- Costa, Emilia Viotti da, Da Senzala à Colônia (1966).

- Faoro, Raimundo, Os Donos do Poder (1958).
- Fausto, Boris, Crime e Cotidiano (1984); História do Brasil (1994).
- Franco, Maria Sylvia de Carvalho, Homens Livres na Ordem Escravocrata (1974).
- Freyre, Gilberto, Casa-Grande & Senzala (1933).
- Furtado, Celso, Formação Econômica do Brasil (1959).

- Furtado, Júnia Ferreira, Chica da Silva (2009).
- Gomes, Angela de Castro, A Invenção do Trabalhismo (1988).
- Holanda, Sérgio Buarque de, Raízes do Brasil (1936); (ed.) História Geral da Civilização Brasileira (1963-81).
- Iglesias, Francisco, Trajetória Política do Brasil (1993).
- Leal, Victor Nunes, Coronelismo, Enxada e Voto (1949).
- Mattoso, Kátia de Queirós, Ser Escravo no Brasil (1988).

- Moniz Bandeira, Luiz Alberto, Brasil-Estados Unidos: A Rivalidade Emergente (1989).
- Mota, Carlos Guilherme, Ideologia da Cultura Brasileira (1978).
- Novais, Fernando A., Portugal e Brasil na Crise do Antigo Sistema Colonial (1979); (ed.) História da Vida Privada no Brasil, 4 vols. (1997-8).
- Prado, Jr., Caio, Formação do Brasil Contemporâneo (1942).
- Souza, Laura de Mello e, O Diabo e a Terra de Santa Cruz (1986).
- Villela, Annibal & Suzigan, Wilson, Política do Governo e Crescimento da Economia Brasileira (1973).