The presence of indigenous students at universities: between affirmative actions and compositions of ways of knowing

Author(s)

Talita Lazarin Dal' Bó

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2018-03-02

Examining board members

Dominique Tilkin Gallois; Clarice Cohn; Marina Vanzolini Figueiredo; Ana Maria Rabelo Gomes; Gilton Mendes dos Santos

• Advisor: Dominique Tilkin Gallois

Abstract

During the last fifteen years, there has been an expressive increase of affirmative actions in Brazilian public universities, providing, among many things, a significant presence of indigenous students in undergraduate and, more recently, graduate courses throughout the country. Regarding this context and by the observation of experiences in two higher education institutions, UFSCar e UFAM, this work aims to interweave two sets of questions. At first, we reflect on the motivations and possibilities of indigenous students joying universities, focusing on the debate about the constitution of affirmative action policies. It explores both the institutional, State perspective, at the elaboration and implementation of affirmative policies; and the perspectives of indigenous populations, based on the involvement and participation of students and the indigenous movement in these processes. With this, we offer examples of the variety of existing possibilities for implementing affirmative action in regular undergraduate and graduate courses, and some of its challenges. Following, we focus on the presence of indigenous students in universities, regarding the ways in which they construct their experiences in higher education, and how they reflect on them. The experiences of indigenous undergraduate students are mainly addressed by the students\' assemblies and movements that carried out debates about \"culture\" and \"knowledge\", as well as their reflections on the importance of occupying universities, in order to become more visible and stronger in this space. In the last chapter, we address the presence of indigenous students in postgraduate courses (stricto sensu). Starting from a brief panorama of this presence in the country, we raised a debate about notions like \"autoanthropology\" and \"indigenous anthropology\". We conclude with the experiences of indigenous anthropologists Yepamahsã (Tukano) of the NEAI/PPGAS/UFAM, which allow us to perceive the multiple possibilities of the anthropological exercise, when constructing, updating and composing different modes of knowledge. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/24077-0 - Indigenous students developing researches: cultural translation strategies
• Grantee: Talita Lazarin Dal Bo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate