This article proposes a rereading of a reference work in the history of the brazilian education published in 1942 - The brazilian culture. This work was a result of the goverment’s requests to Fernando de Azevedo to write the "Introduction" to the General Census of 1940. This study intends to understand how one historic agent and a specific work have built a conception of the intelectuals and Education’s role in the constitution of the brazilian public space. Observing the way the concepts of civilization and culture, science and education are articulated, it was possible to establish some connections between a conception of culture and the building of a version of the History of the brazilian education.
Fernando de Azevedo; Culture; Science and education