Sociologist discusses the role of black writers in Brazilian literature

FGV’s School of Social Sciences (CPDOC) will host a discussion with Mário Augusto Medeiros on September 5, at 10 a.m., in Sao Paulo. The sociologist will talk with undergraduate students about his book ‘A descoberta do insólito – literatura negra e literatura periférica no Brasil (1960-2000)’ [Discovery of the unusual – black literature and peripheral literature in Brazil (1960-2000)] at FGV’s Main Hall (Rua Itapeva, 432. 4th floor. Bela Vista, Sao Paulo).

The discussion will be guided by the book, a social commentary that outlines an overview of Brazilian literary history, in which black writers are something of a rarity. Given the social conditions of production and the emergence of the authors, the question of how literary creation could have appeared in such inhospitable or displaced scenarios was repeatedly asked. The unusual, therefore, operates not as an element of a fantastic universe, but as a two-way street of daily life. It is guided, on the one hand, by history and the social conditions in which most black and peripheral people live; and, on the other hand, by the denial of denial, the principle of affirmation of one’s self and the social subject, which makes the political activism and literary creation of black and marginalized authors possible.

Mário Augusto Medeiros da Silva holds a degree in Social Sciences, a Master’s and a PhD in Sociology from Unicamp, where he currently works as a professor. He has experience in the field of Sociology, with emphasis on Sociological Theory, mainly on the following themes: Brazilian Social Reasoning, Literature and Society, Black Intellectuals. In 2013, he received the Award for Young Portuguese-Speaking Social Scientists from the Center for Social Studies of University of Coimbra (Portugal).

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