The genealogy of childhood in Brazil: The contours of childhood

The present work has the central focus towards composing the field of sociology of Brazilian childhood in what refers to the concept of childhood through a literature review and analysis of articles, books published since 1947 and interviews that were performed with some  national researchers related to themes  of children, childhood, early childhood and sociology of childhood. We intend to analyze how Brazilian childhood has been discussed from 1947 to 2011, who are these researchers, what are the publications that identify how belonging to the sociology of childhood, what methodologies, epistemologies, theoretical references used, as well as, the thematic that elect in order to configure the field of childhood in Brazil. The time frame was chosen because we consider the article written by Florestan Fernandes entitled “As trocinhas do Bom Retiro: contribuição ao estudo folclórico e sociológico da cultura e dos grupos infantis”  (The trocinhas of Bom Retiro: contribution to the sociological study of culture and folklore and children’s groups) as a starting point of discussion in Brazil about the culture of childhood. The theoretical work is intended to show from published articles and interviews that were undertaken in the field of childhood setting, seeking to indicate how this field is constituted, its ruptures, themes and outlines. That is, we intend to verify if the contemporary and neo-liberalism are promoting a reconfiguration of the concept of childhood.