The article analyzes and problematizes the rapid passage of the young Michael Löwy by the sociology of the work, when in 1959 realized research on the attitudes and the workers’ conscience among metallurgical union leaders. We contextualize this study in the course of the process of institutionalization of Brazilian sociology, in particular the development of research on industry and work, carried out at the University of São Paulo in the 1950s and 1960s. We affirm that the author presented, in a manuscript unknown, a possible alternative to the style of sociology in force at USP. The reflections and conclusions of this article are anchored in consultations carried out in archives and in an interview with the author.
Michael Löwy; Sociology of work; Worker consciousness; Social thought; Intellectual history