Themes and tendencies of Rural Sociology: recent experience at the University of Brasilia

Abstract

An overview of recent research in Rural Sociology at the University of
Brasilia provides the basis for presenting a proposal of theoretical construction
for the analysis of agricultural technology. The author underlines the importance
of widening the very concept of technology, considering it as a process with
multiple dinensions, generating economic, political and ideological implications.
The far-reaching scope of the article comprehends the role of the State in the
production and diffusion of new technologies as well as the landowners' and
workers’ reactions to the introduction of innovations in agriculture - including the
specific case of women as rural workers.