A historiography of Brazilian theoretical and quantitative geography: The “Rio Claro case”, from flourishing to fall

Abstract

Based on the assumption that, in local contexts, scientific progress may manifest differently, this article aims to present to the European community of geographers aspects of the so-called « neo-positivist geography » in Brazil. In the 1970s, one institution was emblematic, acting as sounding board for the pragmatic and scientific thinking of the Theoretical and Quantitative Geography in the country: the former Faculty of Philosophy, Science and Letters of Rio Claro, São Paulo State. We acknowledge key characters associated with this institution, who did not only engage in apologetic speech but also produced texts with reflective and applied content. Furthermore, we describe the reasons underlying reproaches endured by Brazilian theoretical geographers. The virtual heirs to a geography engaged in defending technical and linguistic accuracy found themselves acting under a condition of exclusion that soon hastened the rise of a long season of decay for the Rio Claro institution.

Keywords

• theoretical and quantitative geography
• history of geography
• geography of science