Language:
Portuguese
Year of publication:
1997
Titel der Quelle:
Judaica Latinoamericana; estudios histórico-sociales
Angaben zur Quelle:
3 (1997) 143-161
Keywords:
Freyre, Gilberto,
;
Antisemitism
Abstract:
Discusses Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre's image of the Jew within what he calls "miscegenated Brazil", with particular focus on Freyre's book "Casa-Grande & Senzala". While evoking common racial and antisemitic prejudices (e.g. usury, "biological specialization" for trade, "semitic ideal"), Freyre stressed the neo-Lamarckian concept of adaptability, arguing that the "Semitic stock" gave the Portuguese people some of their best characteristics, such as mobility, adaptability, cosmopolitanism, and economic realism, all essential to Portuguese colonial expansion. In the 1930s, Freyre was one of the few Brazilian intellectuals who favored Jewish immigration and integration, clashing with the official attitude and policy represented by sociologist Oliveira Viana, which stressed racial differences, white superiority, and Jewish non-assimilation.
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