The Return of Sociology in Schools: Collective Actions and Memory of Social Scientists in Rio De Janeiro during the 1980s

In the 1980s, amidst the process of re-democartization in Brazilian politics, Sociology was gaining space in the curricula of basic education across the country. This was possible by the mobilization of associations and unions of social scientists. At that time, the mobilization of social scientists was characterized by several struggles and demands, including the regulation of the sociologist profession, the creation of an independent and autonomous union, and the return of Sociology as a subject in high school. While the literature allows us to understand this period in broad terms, there is still a vast field to be explored through research, aimed at uncovering the agents and meanings mobilized during that time. The presentation will specifically address the work conducted within the Study Group on Social Sciences and Memory (GECISME), hosted by the Sociology Department at Colégio Pedro II. Currently, the research aims on understanding the social groups and meanings mobilized in the return of Sociology to schools in the 1980s and 1990s, based on (i) historical documents from the department and the Professional Association of Sociologists of Rio de Janeiro (APSERJ), which may constitute an archive, and (ii) interviews based on oral history methodology. In this presentation, we bring preliminary results from the analysis of primary material, which recovers the memory of facts and events related to the formation of APSERJ and the Sociology Department at Colégio Pedro II in the 1980s and 1990s.