Antonio Candido, founder of the Institute of Language Studies at Unicamp (IEL), passed away this Friday morning (12) in São Paulo. The literary critic, sociologist and former professor at the institute was laid to rest at the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, in SP, in the neighborhood do Morumbi, until 17 pm. And he was cremated on Saturday (14),. Antonio Candido was the widower of Gilda de Mello e Souza, who died in December 2005, and leaves behind his daughters Ana Luísa, Laura and Marina. He died at the age of 98. The IEL declared three days of official mourning for the death of its founder.
Antonio Candido, born in Rio de Janeiro, was the author of fundamental works of criticism such as Formation of Brazilian Literature (Decisive Moments), from 1959, and classic sociological studies, such as The Rio Bonito Partners (1964), about the São Paulo country bumpkin and his transformation. Candido was a estudious of Brazilian and foreign literature, with an extensive critical work, respected in the main universities in the country and abroad. Among the various distinctions he received, the teacher was awarded the title of honorary doctor because of Unicamp. He was professor emeritus at USP and Unesp.
Repercussion
Francisco Foot Hardman, professor at the Department of Literary Theory at IEL
"I am a student in the second undergraduate human sciences class at Unicamp, when I started my master's degree in political sciences at IFCH, in 1975. At that time I was already very interested in the literary and cultural history of Brazil due to my initial research on the anarchism and the labor movement. And I then took Antonio Candido's course, on the ideological reading of literary texts. There, for me, he already revealed himself to be the great master he always was, in the sense of an always plural and non-dogmatic vision of cultural, social and literary facts. There also began, and I owe it directly to Professor Antonio Candido, some of my best intellectual friendships and my best academic ties that largely explain my migration from sociopolitical studies to literary studies since I joined IEL in 1987."
Márcia Azevedo de Abreu, professor at the Department of Literary Theory at IEL and current director of Editora at Unicamp
“Professor Antonio Candido was one of the most important intellectuals of the 20th century. He had great political insertion and left-wing, resistance actions. His books have a central impact on sociology and literature. He leaves a legacy of his works and the way of understanding literature sociologically. Our training at IEL was based on the books he wrote, such as Formation of Brazilian Literature, which remains current today. I believe that his thoughts will remain alive, especially in this area.”
Paulo Franchetti, retired professor from the Department of Literary Theory at IEL
"Antonio Candido was one of the most luminous figures in Brazilian culture. To say that is still an understatement. Candido was an intellectual who was, as patron or adversary, at the center of practically all discussions about national culture in the second half of the 20th century. His critical work is monumental and unavoidable, as is his work as a teacher and advisor to some of the most relevant figures in Brazilian literary thought. His legacy also includes, in a point that touches us directly, the creation of the Institute of Language Studies at Unicamp.
I don't believe I have words to record the intellectual debt and feeling of gratitude that, like so many others, I have towards Antonio Candido. Facing his work with the rigor it required, following his lesson in dealing with the works he valued, was always my way of paying homage to him. "
Antonio Alcir Bernárdez Pécora, professor at the Department of Literary Theory at IEL
"A decisive thing for Unicamp was the founding of IEL and the introduction of Literary Theory among the University's areas of knowledge. The entire IEL initial group was formed by students of Antonio Candido. He was the director of IEL who signed my hiring.
Regarding his role as a critic, Antonio Candido was highlighted for taking literature seriously. Literature is decisive for the interpretation of culture, as well as the country itself. This idea of the centrality of literature was fundamental in his work, and this greatly influenced the perspective of people who chose to study literature as an important and decisive area within the humanities.
Antonio Candido was an inspiring critic because he didn't just read the texts. He had a hand-to-hand connection with the work. It wasn't about simply having a theory and fitting the texts into it, often without much connection to the work. He was a critical reader. For me, the particular critical bias he had was very important: the decisive importance of the work in the analysis, and not simply using the work as an example and demonstration of other aspects and theories."
Flávio Ribeiro de Oliveira, director of IEL
"Our sadness at the loss of Antonio Candido – an intellectual who played a decisive role in the formation of Brazilian culture – has, at least, some compensation in the seminal work he bequeathed to us: a complete work, fundamental for understanding the relationships between literature and society in our country, and which contributed to the formation of some of the most important figures in the national academic world. IEL, appalled by the loss of its first director, declared three days of official mourning."
More about Candido
Unicamp Newspaper, 2013
Thesis points to convergence between literature and social sciences in the work of Antonio Candido
Unicamp Newspaper, 2006
Candido reunites with the institute he created at Unicamp
Unicamp Newspaper, 2004
The world of books and the digital world, according to Antonio Candido
TV Unicamp, 2006 - Antonio Candido talks about the creation of IEL
TV Unicamp - Brazil 21st Century Event
