This little volume is a handbook for the scholar planning to work in the social sciences in Brazil. It was prepared under the auspices of the Committee on International Anthropology of the National Research Council and designed to fill a gap in the literature on field work methods. The stated objective of the book is to provide information which the research worker should have “in order to plan his trip, get clearances from governments, deal with interested scientific institutions and scholars, comport himself properly in relations with local leaders, and establish a generally favorable working status for himself.” Dr. Hutchinson has more than satisfied this objective. His book is directed primarily toward the problems facing the anthropologist going to Brazil for the first time, but much of it can be read with profit by the historian as well as by students of other disciplines.
In view of its special focus, the book touches only lightly on the problems and opportunities in the field of history. However, Dr. Hutchinson is critical of the low level of historical research, asserts that many historical lessons to be learned in Brazil have been ignored, and points to the need for serious work in “modern history which seeks out the dynamics of the past rather than just dates.”
For the historian the most valuable sections of this book may well be those dealing with the current state of social science studies in Brazil and with the leading Brazilian and other organizations engaged in research or application of the social sciences. The author’s review of the university system is especially pertinent for the prospective exchange professor. The appendices, which list the major organizations, libraries, and periodicals in the social sciences, make this volume a useful reference work for all Brazilianists, whether neophytes or “old Brazil hands.”
