Formation of Souls

José Murilo de Carvalho is emeritus professor of history at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He has published twelve books, including Cidadania ano Brasil: O longo caminho (2001), and the biography D. Pedro II: Ser ou não ser (2007).

"When Brazil overthrew its monarchy in 1889 and opted for republicanism, there were no clear guidelines on how the new government should operate, nor which symbols should represent the 'new order.' In this brilliant essay (originally published in 1990 and offered here in the first English translation), the distinguished Brazilian historian José Murilo de Carvalho dissects this process by focusing on the 'origin of myth, the hero, the feminine allegory, and the flag.' . . . Eminently readable in a superb translation by Clifford E. Landers and illustrated with reproductions of paintings, sculptures, flags, and snatches of musical anthems, this short work is required reading for students of Brazil and Latin America." —Choice"The book that is now arriving in the hands of English-language readers was first published in 1990 and in the following year received the Jabuti Prize, the most prestigious literary award in Brazil. Since then, it has become indispensable to an understanding of Brazil. The Formation of Souls owes its success not only to the originality of its research and its analytic consistency but also to its place within the larger body of work of José Murilo de Carvalho, an author with one of the most consistent and celebrated research agendas in Brazil." —from the foreword"This richly illustrated study expertly teases out the didactic symbolism that the founders of the Brazilian Republic used to stimulate patriotism in the early decades of the regime. It shows how political leaders enlisted the arts to create citizens in the face of popular incomprehension, apathy, and disillusion." —Joseph Love, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign"This classic study is essential to our understanding of nation-building in Brazil's post-1889 transition from monarchy to liberal republic. Through an engaging analysis of iconography, Carvalho offers a rich look into the ascendancy of a positivist political culture invested in forging national traditions in the Western mold." —Jerry Davila, University of North Carolina at Charlotte