Race » et racisme au Brésil

Race relations have long been a key issue for reflection and scientific investigations in Brazil. However, it was not until recently that the dilemma posed by the notion of “race” as both a designation and an analytical category came to the fore amongst researchers. Specifically within the context of discussions on affirmative action policies, sociologists, anthropologists, historians or geneticists alike are concerned by the need to find the proper interpretative keys to understand and explain this social phenomenon. Over ten years after the introduction of the first racial quotas policies in Brazil, this article seeks to return to the debate on racial categories and on the role of social science researchers in defining them. Our aim here is to engage in careful reflection on the present times and the challenges which are still to be met in a research program on race and racism.