Ma: dialogue with barthesian writing

• Grant number: 21/08415-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: July 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Literature Theory
• Principal Investigator: Paloma Vidal
• Grantee: Brenda Helen Medeiros Yoshioka
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to understand the concept of Ma and identify its possible use in Literary Theory. Ma is seen as an exclusively Japanese aesthetics that is present in several artistic languages. As a starting point, we will outline a possible definition for the term through the study of Japanese culture and communication conducted by Michiko Okano (2012). Then, in order to exemplify how Ma can permeate the literary field, the book of essays "Empire of Signs" (1970), by Roland Barthes, will be analyzed from the following aspects: the interval as the pause that dictates the reading pace due to the arrangement of images and text; and spatiality as an experience of spaces built by perception guided by Japanese cultural elements. (AU)