Acceso usuarios
Jorge Iván Vergara del Solar
A la luz de la reciente publicación de los escritos de Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009) realizados durante su exilio en Estados Unidos, este ensayo reconstruye la formación del pensamiento del destacado antropólogo francés durante su estancia en Brasil y en Nueva York. Estos doce años (desde 1935 hasta 1947) son fundamentales en la gestación del estructuralismo, la gran escuela teórica formada por Lévi-Strauss. También significan su primera y definitiva inmersión en el trabajo de campo entre diversos pueblos indígenas (Bororo, Caduveo, Nambikwara y Tupi-Kawahib). Junto a su labor docente en la Universidad de São Paulo, sus expediciones etnográficas en el Mato Grosso le permitieron ir desarrollando ciertos temas centrales en su obra posterior, como las relaciones de parentesco, el intercambio, el arte indígena o la mitología. Al mismo tiempo, estos escritos tempranos reflejan influencias teóricas y disciplinarias diversas: la filosofía de Rousseau, la escuela sociológica francesa de Durkheim y Mauss, el marxismo, el psicoanálisis y la antropología anglosajona. Se busca analizarlos a la luz de su obra madura, intentando distinguir continuidades y rupturas. Adicionalmente, se pretende esclarecer ciertos aspectos polémicos acerca del autor, como la calidad de su trabajo etnográfico.
This essay aims to reconstruct the formation of the thought of the outstanding French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009), in light of the recent publication of writings elaborated during his exile in the United States during his stay in Brazil and New York. These twelve years (from 1935 to 1947) are highly significant for the development of structuralism, the fundamental theoretical school founded by Claude Lévi-Strauss. In this period also takes place his first and definitive fieldwork immersion among various indigenous peoples: Bororo, Caduveo, Nambikwara and Tupi-Kawahib. Along with his teaching work at the University of São Paulo, his ethnographic expeditions into the Mato Grosso allowed him to develop central topics of his later work, such as his findings on kinship relations, exchange practices, dual organizations, indigenous art and mythology. These early writings also reflect diverse theoretical and disciplinary influences such as Rousseau’s philosophy, the French sociological school of Emile Durkheim and Marcel Mauss, marxism, psychoanalysis, and the Anglo-Saxon anthropology. The article aims at analyzing them in light of his mature work, thus trying to distinguish continuities and ruptures. Additionally, it will attempt to clarify some controversial aspects about the author, such as the quality of his ethnographic work and his political commitment.
