The Roots of a Modern Nation. The Identities of Sérgio B. de Holanda

The aim of this book is to analyse the various identities of the intellectual Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, firstly by showing his participation in the Modern Art Week in São Paulo in 1922. Even though he lived in Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio became one of the great defenders of São Paulo Modernism, even representing the magazines Klaxon and Estética in Rio de Janeiro. This opens up a discussion about whether Sérgio was a modernist from Rio or São Paulo. Showing how the project undertaken by the São Paulo elites succeeded in placing São Paulo as the 'founding landmark' of the Brazilian modernist movement. Finally, this article analyses how, from the 1950s onwards, when he joined the teaching staff at USP, Sérgio Buarque became very close to the Annales and created a Ususpian identity. He dealt with themes such as the history of mentalities, material culture and interdisciplinarity in works such as Visão do Paraíso and Caminhos e Fronteiras. We can see a significant change in the game of identities analysed by Stuart Hall, where the postmodern subject is fragmented, without a fixed identity. In this way, Sérgio moves closer to the French historiography of the Annales.