The Giant of the 20th Century: Images of Brazil at UNESCO

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the constitution of images of Brazil in its relationship with Unesco. I study the relationship between these two agents as a moment on which an idea of country is operated in a singular way. I believe that this image is built historically, but also has a prospective character. I show how the structuring of this relationship presupposed the construction of a Brazil with characteristics defined by interests and ideological perspectives of Unesco and of some members of a Brazilian intellectual elite. The focus of this article is a special issue of the 1986 UNESCO Courier dedicated to Brazil with texts written mostly by Brazilians presenting questions and reflections about the country that contribute to shaping a certain perspective. I bet, however, that it is in the images chosen by the editor that one can glimpse some propositions of Unesco around a conception of Brazil and an idea of culture.

Keywords
Unesco; culture (concept); Brazil; historical anthropology of the State; Brazilian social thought