Paterson Franco Costa (Salvador – Bahia, Brazil): Belarusian Studies in Brazil – Challenges and Perspectives

(webzine “Kultura. Natsyja”, issue 30, November 2022, 146–164, www.sakavik.net )

Abstract. This paper aims to summarize the academic, artistic and literary production that the author has produced on the theme of Belarus for Brazilian audiences, while reflecting on the challenges and the perspectives along the way. For this purpose, a corpus of 2 monographs, 2 books, including 1 translation, 4 articles, 6 presentations in scientific events, and 2 artistic/literary events was selected, covering a period of approximately 7 years (2015-2022). The main challenges are related to the cultural and political distance between Belarus and Brazil, which is deconstructed and analyzed from the viewpoint of Postcolonial Cultural Studies (PCS). As this is an interdisciplinary, multilateral field of research, the perspectives are equally rich and varied, especially: the inclusion of the post-Soviet space as an area of interest within PCS; lessons on coloniality and political backwardness; cultural appropriation within the same ethnicity; language and identity as means for civil resistance, among others. The theoretical framework includes sources from Belarus and beyond, such as Akudovich, Arlou, Bekus, Bykau, Bernardino-Costa, Bhabha, Fanon, Foucault, Franco, Grosfoguel and Oyewumi. The results thus far point to a breakthrough in Brazilian academic studies on Belarus, raising awareness on topics related to its language, culture and civil rights. 

Keywords: Belarus, Brazil. Postcolonial studies, Translation, Intersemiotics 

Categories: Культура, Нацыя Беларусы, Нацыя прачынаецца