Social Work and the encounter with the past: the historical roots of the profession in Amazonas in the 1960s

Abstract

This article analyses the functioning of the Manaus School of Social Work, in the state of Amazonas - Brazil, in the 1960s, looking at the organization of professional training and the historical determinants that influenced its incorporation into the University of Amazonas. Using the method of Historical-Dialectical Materialism, the research had a bibliographic and documentary design, with significant access to primary sources that had not undergone any previous process of analysis. Different types of documents located in the Central Archive and the Department of Social Work at the Federal University of Amazonas were catalogued and analyzed. The results revealed that, between 1941 and 1968, the theoretical and practical training provided by the school reflected Franco-Belgian, hygienist and North American influences. From 1968 onwards, under the management of the University of Amazonas Foundation, the incorporation of the School into the University brought new challenges and opportunities for the expansion of Social Work training in the state of Amazonas.