Do lugar da Geografia à Geografia do lugar na obra de Samuel Benchimol

Abstract

Understanding the Amazon has been a challenge for any researcher, a difficulty arising almost always from a territorial extension that goes beyond the Brazilian territory. This dimension encompasses not only physical issues, but also the complexity of the social formation of this region. Several researchers have dedicated themselves to studying it, but research on geographic thinking in the Amazon, especially in Amazonas, is still scarce. This research aimed to analyze the influences and conformation of geographical thought in the work of Samuel Benchimol, contextualizing the trajectory of intellectual formation and business performance of this author, with the main events in Brazil and Amazonas, describing the main categories of analysis of Geography. Therefore, this research began with Professor Doctor José Aldemir de Oliveira, in memoriam, and Hellen Caroline de Jesus Braga, together proposing a periodization of the works, those of formation (1944-1977), from the first publication to the work considered “ marco”, Amazônia: a little before and after, and the second moment, the works of maturity considered from 1978 to 2001, when the last book is published, Ecological Zênite e nadir economic-social, such periodicity, we consider , based on the geographical notions identified in Samuel Benchimol's texts, thus demonstrating, in his mature works (1978-2001), the influence of geographical thinking and how the Amazon appears related to sustainable development, from the categories territory and region . To achieve the objective, accurate research was carried out in public and private libraries, in digital collections, newspapers and magazines, based on records of this material found, and conceptual analyzes in the work of Samuel Benchimol, and thus verifying the contribution of the work to geographic thinking. During the research we came across some difficulties regarding free access to the work of the researched author, but the material and information acquired were sufficient for the study. As there is an expressive amount of works, it was not possible to read and analyze them all. The research was organized into three chapters, the first, historiographical and conceptual; which, firstly, makes references about the importance of geographic categories and briefly discusses each one of them, from authors who discuss the theme. Then, a brief account of the history of Samuel Benchimol, and how the historical context influenced his way of thinking about the Amazon. The second discusses the formation works of the first phase, from (1944-1977), based on geographic categories, region and territory. And the third chapter, from the analysis of three works written in the period 1978-2001, considered main, for discussing themes that were discussed in other texts and speeches of the author during this period and, as appears the mature thought of Samuel Benchimol regarding Amazon. Therefore, it was found that the aforementioned author has very rich contributions to geography studies, as he seeks to assess the socio-spatial relations in the face of sustainable development for the region, using as his foundation notable geographers from Brazil and other nationalities.