This paper aims to highlight the significance of Gilberto Freyre’s approaches to environmental and ecological issues. A recurring concern in his work, ecological issues were first dealt with by Freyre in his first and classic book, Casa-grande e senzala, which was written in the thirties - a sign of Freyre’s singular precocity in dealing with such issues within the scope of social sciences in Brazil. Gilberto Freyre’s considerations on environmental and ecological issues are also analyzed and examined against considerations put forward by recent disciplinary fields in scientific investigation, such as environmental history and sociology. These fields of study have had a pivotal role in creating new avenues for an interdisciplinary scientific approach to issues involving the relationship between society and nature, something which was already envisioned by Freyre’s historical-sociological appraisal. It is pointed out that Freyre’s interest for a ‘social ecology’ has enabled him to postulate ‘developmental’ propositions imbued with concerns with the ecological and environmental balance, a topic on the agenda of debates on city-country relationships (‘rurbanization’) and contemporary life quality.
Gilberto Freyre; environmental history; environmental sociology; ecology; rurbanization