Abstract
The quest for linking the social sciences to an evolutionary principle of natural sciences in Brazil at the end of the 19th century brought out the character of the “observer of difference”, understood as someone who would recognize the roots of nationality in the lower races without identifying with them. In the 1980s, Mariza Corrêa took this character - represented in her work by the scientist Raimundo Nina Rodrigues - as a valuable counterpoint to 20th century authors who were inclined to minimize the racial conflicts that exist in Brazilian society. This article aims to demonstrate that, in considering herself a scientific heiress of the 19th century ethnographer as an observer of difference and conflict, the author failed to explore the conflict around the demarcation of the very difference between the ethnographer who observes and the observed ethnic groups. Such conflict involved writers from the north and the south of the country in the 19th century and its existence might be glimpsed in her work.
Keywords:
alterity; evolutionism; history of science; literature