This book intends to familiarise the reader with the political and sociological thought of Florestan Fernandes, covering the range of his research themes and socialist militancy between the 1940s and 1990s. Considered the founding father of sociology in Brazil, Florestan Fernandes’ work is essential for an understanding of the historical and political dilemmas of Brazilian and Latin American societies. His main themes encompass research on folklore, indigenous peoples, race relations between blacks and whites, sociological theory, education, underdevelopment, dependence, Latin American dictatorships, and the Brazilian "re-democratization" after 1980, providing a new interpretation of Latin America from the point of view of the lumpen social strata. Following Mannheim's inspiration, the present work is inserted in the field of sociology of knowledge. It takes an original approach to the ideas of Florestan Fernandes based on the notion of a lumpen thought style. This book is a key resource for readers learning about the history of the social sciences in Latin America, and about the political dilemmas of Latin American societies.

This book intends to familiarise the reader with the political and sociological thought of Florestan Fernandes, covering the range of his research themes and socialist militancy between the 1940s and 1990s. Considered the founding father of sociology in Brazil, Florestan Fernandes’ work is essential for an understanding of the historical and political dilemmas of Brazilian and Latin American societies. His main themes encompass research on folklore, indigenous peoples, race relations between blacks and whites, sociological theory, education, underdevelopment, dependence, Latin American dictatorships, and the Brazilian "re-democratization" after 1980, providing a new interpretation of Latin America from the point of view of the lumpen social strata. Following Mannheim's inspiration, the present work is inserted in the field of sociology of knowledge. It takes an original approach to the ideas of Florestan Fernandes based on the notion of a lumpen thought style. This book is a key resource for readers learning about the history of the social sciences in Latin America, and about the political dilemmas of Latin American societies.

Joze Plecnik (1872-1957) studierte bei Otto Wagner in Wien. 1911 ubernahm er den Lehrstuhl von Jan Kotera in Prag. Seine Wiener Bauten sind Landmarken, in Prag wurde er zum Architekten der Prager Burg, und in den 1920er-Jahren begann er den Umbau seiner Heimatstadt Ljubljana. UEber Plecnik wurde viel geforscht und publiziert. Valenas Betrachtungen zeigen jedoch neue Aspekte seines Schaffens auf: sein Wirken in Prag, den Einfluss der roemisch-italienischen Inspiration in seinem Werk, den Umgang mit "naturlichem" Gelande, die Rolle des Bestands bei der Entwicklung neuer liturgischer Raumkonzepte in Kirchenumbauten und die Frage, inwiefern es bei "Plecniks Ljubljana" angemessen ist, von humanistischem Stadtumbau zu sprechen - die Themen des neuen Plecnik-Buchs sind fur Einsteiger und Experten gleichermassen interessant.