Histórias conectadas: cooperação Brasil/África e a produção acadêmica de africanos no Brasil contemporâneo

Abstract

This dissertation investigated how the Brazil/Africa Educational Cooperation networks influenced academic discussions and productions from a decolonial perspective. To this end,

the trajectory of five African professors at the University of International Integration of Afro- Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB) was analyzed, focusing on their academic productions about

the African continent and their confrontations with Eurocentric narratives. The historical devaluation of African intellectual contributions and the institutional efforts aimed at combating this marginalization were also discussed. Among the efforts analyzed, the PEC-G, PEC-PG programs, and UNILAB stand out, as they have contributed to strengthening South-South cooperation. The research, with a qualitative approach, was grounded in the decolonial perspective, particularly in the concepts of Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Walter Mignolo, to explore the power struggles and resistance processes in the works of these intellectuals. The results indicated that, although the PEC-G and PEC-PG programs played an important initial role, they showed limitations in strengthening the cooperation networks. On the other hand, UNILAB has consolidated itself as a strategic space for the development of decolonial thinking, despite facing financial and organizational challenges. The analyses revealed that the professors' works address themes such as ancestry, education, and sustainable development in the PALOP, challenging stereotypes and promoting new perspectives on the African continent, in line with postcolonial perspectives, frequently using orality. However, European theories still exert a significant influence on their work.