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| Philosophy in Brazilian Agora DESCRIPTION: The aim of this course is to introduce a new bias in the discussion of politics and society in Brazil. Its focus may be the idea of a cultural, or philosophical, discussion of politics in a concrete scenery. Brazilian thinkers have been aware for a long time of the problems of their country, esp. its social debt to the poor and its standing as an underdeveloped country that does not succeed in bridging the gap between itself and the richer nations. The contribution of Brazilian social scientists and economists to a better understanding of these problems has been widely discussed, but not the role fo Brazilian philosophers in an analogous debate. Since the mid-1970s, Brazilian philosophers have written some papers and books about their country’s political culture, helping to shape what we can call a new agora. Some of these books and many of those articles have been widely read in Brazil. The purpose of this course is to discuss their reflection. It will be necessary to link their ideals and analyses on Brazil to their philosophical work. Op-ed articles will not be considered. Another aspect of this course will be the discussion of the idea of agora, as a cultural public space where a country or a society becomes aware of its own problems. It can be considered a different way to discuss identities. Theater had this role pre-1968, philosophy has taken a part in it since the mid-1970s, TV soap operas have had this role since the 1970s and recent Brazilian movies have also been able to take up this role. These examples and the concept of an agora will be discussed. Almost all the papers and publications about Brazil by Brazilian philosophers have been published only in Portuguese. However, those fluent in Spanish could read them with the help of a dictionary. REQUIREMENTS: This class will be conducted in English. It is recommended however that students be able to read in Portuguese, even though those profficient in Spanish might understand the reading material with the help of a dictionary. This course satisfies the language requirement towards the certificate in the Latin American regional concentration. Class Participation 40% of grade Final Paper 60% of grade WEEKLY READINGS WEEK 1 - Class introduction. The concept of agora as a cultural arena where a society becomes aware of itself.
Brazilian agora under the first years of military rule (1964-68): the example of theater in Sao Paulo.
WEEK 2 - Philosophy under repression: Brazil’s young philosophy of the 60s and military rule. Military repression against philosophy and social sciences.
WEEK 3 - Philosophy in a new momentum. A new political arena in the late 1970s. Philosophy comes back (or for the first time?) to the fore. Meetings of SBPC, the Brazilian Association for the Advancement of Science, incorpore the social sciences and become the forum of political debate under military rule.
<<There will be no class on one of those two Wednesdays, either February 11 or 18 (to be announced)>> WEEK 4 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART I) Political philosophy as a new way to discuss repression. The defense of direct democracy and the critique of Fernando Collor’s government.
WEEK 5 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART II) The philosophical basis of Chauí’s political standing: her reading of Spinoza as a radical democrat.
WEEK 6 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART III) Gerd Bornheim and the Discovery of Brazil. His philosophical basis: theater and criticism of the bourgeois project. (Since he and Stein both come from the Southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, perhaps the Brazilian region where politics is more alive and with a tradition of radical thought, there may be some interest in reading Erico Verissimo’s, O tempo e o vento, and Um certo capitão Rodrigo¸ to gather some historical information on their regional background).
WEEK 7 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART IV) Ernildo Stein and the melancholy of the losers, or the left wing in the 90s. His philosophical basis: Heidegger, psychoanalysis, and the Frankfurtian thinkers, esp. Walter Benjamin.
WEEK 8 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART V) Brazilian deficiency of a weak "res publica", as seen by Renato Janine Ribeiro in the latter 80s and earlier 90s. The philosophical basis for these ideas: the theatrical nature of modern politics, including the use of seduction by politicians; his reading of Thomas Hobbes.
WEEK 9 - Brazilian philosophers discuss their country (PART VIII) Criticism of modern North Atlantic democracy as emotionally cold, and the philosophical implications of this approach: the idea of a new form of democracy, in a dissident Western society. Janine Ribeiro’s approach to politics in the latter 90s.
WEEK 10 – Class conclusion. Rio de Janeiro philosopher Coelho de Sampaio and the proposal of a new, original culture. His philosophical basis: a new idea of logic. Final discussions and conclusions.
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