A construção de um pensamento geográfico periférico na perspectiva de Euclides da Cunha

Abstract

This research focuses on the theme of Peripheral Geographical Thought, using Euclides' work as a reference for analysis. With Brazil's independence in 1822, the need arose for a nationalist sentiment that would justify the idea of the new nation-state and would be responsible for generating elements that would shape a certain kind of Brazilianness. Along these lines, several intellectuals, known as "citizen-writers" took it upon themselves to provide an interpretation about the formation of the society and the territory, pointing out the national identity. Euclides da Cunha's books Os Sertões and À Margem da História stand out among many authors and literary works of the period, as they were responsible for generating a perspective of historical and geographical knowledge, as well as providing a reading of Brazil from the point of view of its territory and its differentiations. At the same time, we understood that these writings contain knowledge centred on a significant spatial dimension. From these observations, we draw attention to the central question of this research: to what extent did the spatial dimension present in Euclides da Cunha enable the construction of a Peripheral Geographical Thought in Brazil? Based on this guiding question, the main objective is to analyse how the spatial dimension in literature enabled the construction of a Peripheral Geographical Thought in Brazil, specifically in Euclides da Cunha's works. The methodological procedures used were based mainly on bibliographical and documentary research. In this process, we also highlight that the analysis of the works Os Sertões and À Margem da Histórica took as its interpretative path the "elements of comprehension" pointed out by Cândido (2000; 2006), which consist of an in-depth study of aspects relating to external factors, the author and, finally, the work. As a result of this research, it was observed that the writer discoursed profusely on elements that permeated the territorial formation of Brazil from two central regions, the northeastern Sertão and the Amazon Rainforest, represented respectively by Canudos and Alto Purus, as well as contemplating a vision of the territorial formation of Brazil. From this perspective, it was realised that there was a profound disparity between the northern and southern regions, which permeated the social, economic, and geographical aspects of the country.