From mimicry to authenticity: ISEB and the idea of Brazilian culture (1954-1960)

Abstract

This article analyzes how intellectuals from ISEB – such as Roland Corbisier, Nelson
Werneck Sodré, Álvaro Vieira Pinto, Alberto Guerreiro Ramos and Roberto Campos – approached the concepts of culture, alienation and imperialism in their research agendas between 1954 and 1960. Based on conferences and texts from the period, the study highlights heterogeneous interpretations of the notion of culture and its articulations with the national development project. It is argued that ISEB discourse constitutes a diversified root system, which combines modernization theory, national Marxism and postcolonial critique in formation, anticipating diagnoses about what would later be defined as “cultural imperialism”.

JEL Classification: N46.