Back to the afrofuture: a sociological look at representations of afrofuturism in Brazil (2015-2020)

• Grant number: 22/01431-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: February 29, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Priscila Martins de Medeiros
• Grantee: Cairo Henrique dos Santos Lima
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project has as its object of study Afrofuturism in Brazil, emphasizing its relations with the African Diaspora, its framing from a Sociology of art decentered by Latin American Cultural Studies and the articulation of Afrodiasporic arts from different forms of representation. The selected works of art are the film Branco sai, preto fica (2015), by Adirley Queirós, the book The cybernetic hunter on 13th street (2017), by Fábio Kabral and the musical album Represença (2019), by the group Senzala Hi- Tech. Our general objective is to characterize the relationship between Afrofuturism in Brazil and the arts of the African Diaspora, based on the discussion of different artistic forms of representation. To this end, the specific objectives are aligned with the Sociology of Art and Cultural Studies, to think about the relationships between the social context of Afrofuturism, works of art as artistic representations of Afrofuturism and the social experiences of artists. They are: a) Understanding the influence of cultural hybridization on the social context of construction of representations and experiences of Afrofuturism in Brazil; b) To verify, in the selected works of art, the meaning of three aesthetic elements common to the three works: body, territory and the relationship between subjects and the State; c) Identify the social experiences of the artists who created the selected works to deepen the characterization of Afrofuturism in Brazil based on the trajectory of the artists. Methodologically, the analysis will start with in-depth interviews, content analysis and film analysis. In theoretical terms, our approach emphasizes Afrofuturism from the Post-Colonial and Cultural Studies tradition, discussing topics such as cultural resistance, intercultural relations and criticism of modern thought.