Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Anthropology
First Advisor
Jacob Fried
Term of Graduation
Fall 1972
Date of Publication
10-24-1972
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (M.A.) in Anthropology
Department
Anthropology
Language
English
Subjects
Patron and client, Northeast Brazil -- Social life and customs
DOI
10.15760/etd.958
Physical Description
1 online resource (68 pages)
Abstract
Northeast Brazil is a region characterized by economic poverty and human misery. Poor ecological conditions contribute to the nature of the dilemma, but another factor in the apparent cultural stagnation of the Northeast, may be the persistence of values and social practices traditionally aligned with the colonial sugar plantation system. Thus, this thesis represents an examination of the continuity of a given pattern, the man/patron relationship. This pattern is a contemporary parallel to the master/slave relationship which was the key to understanding of the social system of the colonial period. An historical overview reveals the nature of the traditional system, which proceeded to decline in the late nineteenth century. A review of present day conditions of the rural worker in the Northeast indicates numerous aspects of the colonial system which remain almost as they were. This review is followed by several case studies which particularly reveal various manifestations of the man/patron pattern in contemporary situations other than those associated with the remaining sugar industry.
The information presented in the case studies was collected in 1968-69 when the author was living in Recife on a Fulbright-Hays grant. The case studies do not represent conclusive documentation but, rather, provocative evidence that certain aspects of the traditional social system, namely the man/patron pattern, persist in a contemporary society which is no longer solely dependent on nor dominated by the production of sugar. Furthermore, the thesis implies that the continuity of traditional cultural patterns may, in fact, obstruct efforts of economic and social development.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/9765
Recommended Citation
Thorpe, Patricia Ellen, "Continuity of a Traditional Social Pattern: the "Man-Patron" Relationship in Contemporary Northeast Brazil" (1972). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 958.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.958
Included in
Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
Comments
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