This seminar proposes a critical reflection on Exu as an epistemological principle, linked to the logic of the crossroads as an analytical and methodological approach to the study of inequalities. Drawing on Black and Afro-diasporic epistemologies, the seminar will challenge the supposed neutrality of scientific knowledge, questioning the foundations of modern social sciences and placing Exu at the centre of the research method to destabilise linear and hierarchical readings of social reality and question the regimes of truth that underpin the production of knowledge. From a critical racial perspective, the seminar will seek to counter the idea of universality that dominates academic discourse, bringing into debate theoretical approaches centred on the analysis of racial capitalism, racism, and the narcissistic pact of whiteness. On the other hand, it will seek to demonstrate how the crossroads of Exu can be employed as a methodology with epistemic power capable of shifting those considered subaltern, excluded and marginalised to the centre of research, as well as to verify its relevance in legitimising counter-colonial forms of knowledge that break with racial logic.

The event will be held online, lasting two hours, and will combine an opening presentation by the guest speaker, followed by a Q&A.

Speaker
Rodney William Eugênio, or Pai Rodney de Oxóssi, is a babalorixá and an anthropologist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Gerontology and a PhD in Social Sciences from PUC-SP. He is a columnist for Carta Capital and the author of the books A Benção aos Mais Velhos: Poder e Senioridade nos Terreiros de Candomblé, Apropriação Cultural (translated into French) and Axé: O Poder de Realizar - Mensagens para Mudar seu dia. In 2019, he was selected by MIPAD/UN as one of the world’s most influential Black people. He is currently undertaking postdoctoral research at the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP).

Moderator: Renata Coutinho (PhD candidate of the Programme in Sociology: Labour Relations, Social Inequalities and Trade Unionism
 

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This activity will be provided through Zoom platform and does not require registration. Participation is limited to the number of places available > https://zoom.us/j/87800989460  | ID: 878 0098 9460  | Password: 797437

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