The teaching of Sociology in dispute

Education as a political act of resistance in the sociological perspective of Erlando da Silva Rêses

Abstract

The interview conducted on February 26, 2026, with Brazilian Black popular educator and sociologist Erlando da Silva Rêses constitutes a valuable testimony regarding the formative and intellectual trajectories that permeate his personal and professional path. Between memories and reflections, Professor Rêses revisits significant fragments of his life history, outlining how Sociology became embedded in his academic and existential journey, establishing itself as a structuring axis of his teaching practice and his critical reading of the social world. Throughout the conversation, the interviewee reflects on the role of the sociologist in the 21st century, exploring the dilemmas and tensions that shape the training of Sociology teachers in Brazil, as well as the political and ideological disputes surrounding the presence and intermittence of the discipline within school curricula. In a narrative that is simultaneously analytical and memorialistic, Rêses highlights the role of Sociology in fostering citizenship and emancipation, emphasizing the processes of consolidation and institutionalization of the field, particularly with the creation of the Professional Master’s Degree in Sociology in the National Network (ProfSocio). Finally, he outlines a sensitive and critical overview of the paths, challenges, and perspectives of Sociology teaching in Brazil, reaffirming the discipline as a space of resistance, imagination, and political commitment to social transformation.