Abstract

VIEGAS, Susana de Matos  and  PINA-CABRAL, João de. At the Portuguese crossroads: contemporary Anthropology and its history. Etnográfica [online]. 2014, vol.18, n.2, pp.311-332. ISSN 0873-6561.

In this article, we suggest a reading of the formation of Anthropology in Portugal that considers that “nation-building” and “empire-building” were never very far from each other and tended to fade into one another. In fact, from a broader perspective, we see Anthropology in Portugal as part of what might be called a “fifth tradition” - that is, one that places itself beyond the four main imperial traditions of Anthropology (German, French, British and American). In this sense, their non-hegemonic cosmopolitanism places Portuguese social scientists in a position that is akin to that of the Japanese, the Indians or the Brazilians. In particular, Portugal’s place at a crossroads of the Euro-American routes of intellectual exchange and the South Atlantic routes has recently reaffirmed itself as an important mark in the way Portuguese social sciences intervene in the global scientific debate.

Keywords : history of Anthropology; Anthropology in Portugal; science in Portugal; anthropological research; epistemology and politics in Anthropology.

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