João Marcelo Ehlert Maia

History of sociology and the quest for intellectual autonomy in the Global South: The cases of Alberto Guerreiro Ramos and Syed Hussein Alatas

History of sociology is one of the main fields within the broader area of social science research. Despite its growing methodological sophistication, the field still lacks a truly global approach, one that takes into account alternative sociological traditions, particularly those from the so-called Global South. This article seeks to address these shortcomings by proposing a case study comparison between two sociologists from the Global South who developed similar sociological discourses between the 1950s and 1970s and pursued intellectual autonomy. These were the Brazilian Alberto Guerreiro Ramos (1915–1982) and the Malaysian Syed Hussein Alatas (1927–2008). The article analyzes the main works of Ramos and Alatas and compares their trajectories as well. It is argued that the sociological discourses in the Global South are best explained through a transnational analysis that pays close attention to the conditions of intellectual labor and the quest for intellectual autonomy in this area. It is also argued that the field of history of sociology should take into account these alternative discourses in order to avoid Eurocentrism.

Space, social theory and peripheral imagination: Brazilian intellectual history and de-colonial debates

The spatial turn is a much discussed theme in social theory. However, it is still based on a Eurocentric perspective that excludes other forms of reflection about space. In this article the author addresses the spatial turn from a perspective with a basis in Brazilian intellectual history, so as to argue that the Brazilian case presents a classical tradition of geographical thinking that provides a different framework for global spatial imagination. The author looks to de-colonial critiques in order to analyse this tradition from a contemporary point of view. The aim is to argue that this perspective helps to de-center social theory by providing new spatial images that diverge from those related both to the language of the city and the Eurocentric perspective that still characterizes the spatial turn.The spatial turn is a much discussed theme in social theory. However, it is still based on a Eurocentric perspective that excludes other forms of reflection about space. In this article the author addresses the spatial turn from a perspective with a basis in Brazilian intellectual history, so as to argue that the Brazilian case presents a classical tradition of geographical thinking that provides a different framework for global spatial imagination. The author looks to de-colonial critiques in order to analyse this tradition from a contemporary point of view. The aim is to argue that this perspective helps to de-center social theory by providing new spatial images that diverge from those related both to the language of the city and the Eurocentric perspective that still characterizes the spatial turn. Le tournant dit spatial occupe une place très controversée au sein des débats théoriques sociologiques. Le présent article vise à explorer quelques-uns des effets de ce tournant et propose une approche qui ne soit pas centrée sur le cas européen pour l’appréhender. En s’appuyant sur des débats postcoloniaux, l’article affirme également que quelques traditions intellectuelles périphériques mobilisent le langage de l’espace de manière expérimentale depuis fort longtemps. Le cas de l’histoire intellectuelle brésilienne sert de cas d’étude, afin de vérifier cette hypothèse et débattre de ses conséquences théoriques. El denominado giro espacial ha sido muy controvertido en los debates de teoría social. Este artículo explora algunos resultados de este giro y propone entenderlo desde un enfoque no eurocéntrico. Tomando como referencia los debates sobre la descolonización, el artículo también argumenta que algunas tradiciones intelectuales periféricas han experimentado con el lenguaje del espacio desde hace mucho tiempo. Igualmente, toma la historia intelectual brasileña como un estudio de caso para sostener esta hipótesis y discutir sus posibilidades teóricas.

Toward a global sociology of knowledge: Post-colonial realities and intellectual practices

This article discusses changing social perspectives on knowledge, from the old sociology of knowledge to current post-colonial debates. The authors propose an approach that sees knowledge not as an abstract social construction but as the product of specific forms of social labour, showing the ontoformativity of social practice that creates reality through historical time. Research in three southern-tier countries examines knowledge workers and their labour process, knowledge institutions including workplaces and communication systems, economic strategies and the resourcing of knowledge work and workforces. This research shows in detail the contested hegemony of the global metropole in domains of knowledge. It reveals forms of negotiation that reshape knowledge production, and shows the importance for knowledge workers of the dynamics of global change.

Qual sociologia pública?: uma visão a partir da periferia

This article analyzes the debate on public sociology, launched in 2004 by Michael Burawoy, former president of the American Sociological Association. Besides discussing Burawoys main ideas and the criticism raised from his opponents, we specifically question the opposition between professional and public sociologies. In order to do so, we initially provide a reinterpretation of the history of sociology in the US. We claim that Burawoys perspective on this history is what explains the dualism mentioned above. Then, we address the idea of public sociology from the perspective of the discipline in Brazil. Our main hypothesis is that a case-study from a peripheral country may shed light on different forms of conceiving the public dimension in sociology thus contributing to broaden the theoretical debate on the subject.

As ideias que fazem o estado andar: imaginação espacial, pensamento brasileiro e território no Brasil Central

This article discusses the relationship between state ideas and practices based on a case study of the Fundacao Brasil Central (FBC), an agency created by the Estado Novo regime in 1943 and whose activities extended until 1967. The hypothesis is that Brazilian social thought should be analyzed as a cultural repertoire that produces effects on social life and the state. The article thus analyzes material from the FBC archives and travel records, geopolitical treatises, and other text sources published from the First Republic through the initial years of the Vargas Era. The aim is to show how narratives on Central Brazil shaped the language and practice of public administration.

Negotiating with the North: How Southern-tier intellectual workers deal with the global economy of knowledge

This article examines a group of intellectual workers who occupy a peripheral but not powerless position in the global economy of knowledge. How do they handle relations with the global metropole, especially in new fields of research where established hierarchies are in question? Three new domains of knowledge – climate change, HIV/AIDS and gender studies – are studied through interviews with 70 active researchers in Southern-tier countries Brazil, South Africa and Australia. A pattern of extraversion, involving active adoption of paradigms from the metropole, is widespread and institutionally supported. Major alternative knowledge formations have not emerged in these domains. However contestations of more specific kinds are frequent. Paradigms are adapted, criticism is offered, activism is engaged, capacities are developed and allegiances sometimes changed. The valorization of local knowledge, which goes beyond the abstractions of universalized paradigms, is particularly significant. Not stark subordination, but a complex collective negotiation characterizes the response of intellectual workers in the Southern tier.

Re-making the global economy of knowledge: do new fields of research change the structure of North–South relations?†

How is global-North predominance in the making of organized knowledge affected by the rise of new domains of research? This question is examined empirically in three interdisciplinary areas - climate change, HIV-AIDS, and gender studies - through interviews with 70 researchers in Southern-tier countries Brazil, South Africa and Australia. The study found that the centrality of the North was reinstituted as these domains came into existence, through resource inequalities, workforce mechanisms, and intellectual framing. Yet there are tensions in the global economy of knowledge, around workforce formation, hierarchies of disciplines, neoliberal management strategies, and mismatches with social need. Intellectual workers in the Southern tier have built significant research centres, workforces and some distinctive knowledge projects. These create wider possibilities of change in the global structure of organized knowledge production.