Paulo Freire Program Newsletter

Transcription

1 Newsletter Year 1, no. 2, October 2004 Brazilian professor opens academic year at the FSS First PFP research seminar - Thematic sessions - Exchange of teachers - Publication strategy - Agenda Student mobility PFP house style Call for papers

2 Opening of new academic year at the FSS On 22 September, Professor Claudia Fonseca (UFRGS) opened the academic year at the FSS (VUA Faculty of Social Sciences) by giving a very interesting lecture on DNA, Choice and Destiny in the Contemporary Brazilian Family. In her lecture, Professor Fonseca showed how paternity tests in courts are being used as a resource that contributes to changing the notions of family ties and kinship in Brazilian society. The lecture also provided another perception of the popular classes. The asking for paternity tests in court cases illustrates how ordinary people are not passive, but try to change or negotiate what is considered the natural family. Finally, Professor Fonseca pointed out how the public law system has been recommending paternity tests as a solution to cases, thus promoting a procedure that costs the state a lot of money. Professor Fonseca s lecture provoked both a debate and reflection on the differences between Dutch and Brazilian cultural ideas related to paternity, as well as on the signification processes that follow the introduction of new techniques in different cultures. In the Netherlands, the use of paternity tests is very limited. The lecture was followed by the traditional reception, during which there was lively conversation and a valuable exchange of ideas. First PFP research seminar The first PFP research seminar was held at the FSS on September. The aim of the seminar was to promote the exchange of knowledge between the researchers of the Dutch and Brazilian network members in order to increase international comparison, discussion and collaboration. A joint agenda for the coming years was formulated at the seminar. The local committee at the VUA comprised Dr Marjo de Theije (PFP coordinator VUA) and Dr Andrea Damacena Martins (PFP-VUA). The other researchers from the FSS who contributed to the thematic sessions were Prof. André Droogers, Prof. Bert Klandermans, Prof. Brigit Meyer, Dr Lenie Brouwer, Dr Lorraine Nencel, Prof. Henk Overbeek, Dr Jaap Ouwerkerk and Dr Peter Kerkhof. The researchers from the partner universities who contributed were Dr Cecília Mariz (PFP coordinator UERJ), Prof. Claudia Fonseca (UFRGS), Dr Claudio Beato (UFMG), Dr Márcia Leite (UERJ), Prof. Patrícia Birman (UERJ) and Dr Rousylei Celi M. Maia (UFMG). Unfortunately, no UFPE representative was able to attend the event. 1.

3 At the first thematic session (21 September), the themes discussed were Religious Movements, Gender and Health, Internet Culture, and Communication. On the following day, three other themes were discussed, namely Social Movements, Security, and Transnationalism. Each topic was introduced by either one or two Brazilian or Dutch social scientists who gave an overview of the theme and suggested questions for future comparative studies. After each presentation, the participants were invited to debate and discuss the topic. 1. Religious Movements Dr Cecília Mariz gave an overview of the development of sociological studies and anthropological studies on religion in Brazil, showing that there is no neat disciplinary distinction. Until the end of 1960s, such studies in Brazil interpreted religion as being part of exotic Brazil. Starting in the 1970s, however, new research topics were developed. The rise of liberation theology and base communities in Catholicism opened avenues for research projects that focused on the social and political aspects of this phenomenon. Political scientists, sociologists and anthropologists addressed, in different contexts and at different levels of analysis, the question of the conscientization of the poor. In the 1980s, a discussion arose over the crisis of the base communities and liberation theology project, as a consequence of the end of socialism and the rapid growth of Pentecostal churches. More and more scholars started to study Pentecostalism. In the discussion that followed, it was observed that in religious studies, anthropologists and sociologists are increasingly working from an interdisciplinary perspective. In terms of the differences between Brazilian and Dutch research on religion, Brazilian scholars find new research themes and analytical approaches in the Brazilian religious field itself, while Dutch researchers tend to concentrate on a single case, group, or church, often outside their own country. The suggestion that came up was to start a comparative and transnational investigation of a phenomenon that is important for both groups of researchers, such as pilgrimage or charismatic religiosity. Topics related to the recent changes in religion, media, and Pentecostalism were indicated as important for future research projects in the PFP. Research projects on transnationalism, migration, and religion, related to global and local contexts, were also suggested. 2. Gender and Health Thematic sessions Dr Lorraine Nencel gave a presentation on Gender and Health" as addressed in research in the Netherlands. She observed that few people in the Netherlands are working with topics related to Latin America. In general, most scholars consider studies on gender to be outdated and think that there is little room for this perspective in current projects. Nevertheless, the displacement and migration created by the economic situation in Latin America are stimulating new subjects and debate. More attention is being 2.

4 paid to such themes as sexuality, HIV, AIDS, and STD prevention campaigns. Dr Nencel pointed to some recent studies in Peru and Ecuador that had concentrated on the lack of discussion about the reception of these campaigns. These studies have shown that the roles of the actors are extremely complex. Another aspect mentioned is the linear approach to gender relationships used in these studies. Professor Claudia Fonseca offered a brief overview of Brazilian gender studies since the 1970s when, with the end of the dictatorship and the return of a democratic regime, discussions focused on male domination. In Brazil, this period was characterized by the mix of activism and academic work dealing with women. The field of women s studies was typically multidisciplinary, with strong intellectual influences from both Europe and North America. The funding for research in this area was boosted by the Ford Foundation s decision in 1978 to sponsor a program of grants and publications in collaboration with a group of feminist scholars at the Fundação Carlos Chagas (São Paulo). The program, which first centered on women s studies but switched in the early 1990s to gender studies, has remained in step with the major theoretical changes in the field. Today, the Ford Foundation is promoting research on health and sexuality subjects that have inspired a good many feminist scholars. In fact, the field of gender studies has been relatively successful in Brazil, as it is now included in the academic programs of many departments (education, sociology, history, etc.). There are important centers of gender studies at various universities, such as Pernambuco (Núcleo de Família, Gênero e Sexualidade; FAGES), Santa Catarina (Núcleo Interdisciplinar de Gênero e Subjetividade; NIGS), Campinas (PAGU), Rio Grande do Sul (O Núcleo de Pesquisa em Antropologia do Corpo e da Saúde; NUPACS) and the State of Rio de Janeiro (Centro Latino-americano em sexualidade e direitos humanos; CLAM/UERJ). Scholars continue to be involved in civic movements and public issues, forming partnerships with local NGOs. However, although important work is still being done on such traditional subjects as violence against women, rape, and abortion, as well as on sex-based forms of discrimination and inequality, discussions are no longer couched in inflammatory rhetoric on male domination. On the contrary, contemporary gender studies in Brazil include such themes as male vulnerability, paternity law, religion, morality, and health. Summing up, in Brazil, although researchers on gender issues generally have clear political commitments, their increasingly sophisticated theoretical discussions have left a mark on most of the human sciences, so that gender is now consistently used as an analytical category - along with race, religion, and class - in all manner of social processes. 3. Internet Culture Dr Lenie Brouwer presented her research on Internet culture in the Netherlands. The Internet has created many new opportunities for social sciences research; for example, it allows anthropologists to study the construction of identity without physical boundaries. In her current research project, Dr Brouwer s focus is on the process of communication on- and off-line, and the question of access to and uses of the Internet. Who uses this new medium? Some studies have shown that the Internet is a means to empower women and the elderly. Dr Brouwer sees several interesting research opportunities in the PFP. One is a comparative study of computer clubhouses in Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro, which might be able to elaborate on the aspect of empowerment. Recife would be a very 3.

5 interesting place in which to study ICT initiatives: 2000 saw the launch of the Porto Digital project, which combines economic opportunities with social inclusion projects for the poor. Another theme that might be interesting to explore is the use of the Internet in religious meaning-making and organization, and in the development of religious practices that cross boundaries. In the discussion that followed, it was stressed that it is extremely important to pay attention to how it is signified in local contexts. 4. Communication First, Dr Rousiley Maia talked about the relationship between democracy, the media, and the political public sphere. She presented the role of the media in pre-structuring the process of communication and the public debate in Brazilian democracy. She observed a change in studies on models of democracy and the role of civil society. In recent decades, scholars have been more concerned with investigating formal procedures of decision-making and institutional changes. Now, in an attempt to unravel processes of democratization, more attention is being paid to practices of cooperation, negotiation, and struggle by citizens in private, social and legal realms. Mediated political communication plays an increasingly central role both in the governing process and in citizen perceptions of society and its problems. Dr Maia s current research project focuses on different processes of mediated public debate, related to the public exposure of transgressions; the specification of new rules and legal norms; and controversies regarding identity experiences and problems of recognition. The aim is to establish the forms of expression, communicative interactions, and argumentative patterns displayed by different political actors (politicians, officials, experts, citizens) in the visible space created by the media. Dr Peter Kerkhof then presented an overview of research in the VUA Department of Communication Sciences, in which research into free and paid publicity is central. Teachers have being taking a theoretical perspective in teaching students how to perform research into communication within organizations and between organizations and the public. The emphasis is not on the application of knowledge but on the enhancement of insight. The department is developing two research projects: One is related to content and persons in the media and in organizational relations, while the other focuses on communicative performance. In his own project, Dr Kerkhof is examining the role of communication in creating trust between clients and workers in on-line organizations, such as e-shops. Here, two aspects are considered important, namely the effect of media contents and the perception of the clients. The research methodology applied is a quantitative method that is intended to characterize and analyze the contents of these processes of communication. The emphasis of both presentations was on the difficulties associated with combining quantitative and qualitative methods of research. Most of the participants said that they use ethnography or discourse analyses in their work. 4.

6 5. Social Movements Paulo Freire Program Again, there were two presentations. Professor Bert Klandermans focused on his study of right-wing activists, which he carried out in different countries in Europe in order to analyze the process of stigmatization and how a social stigma is produced in these social movements. It was established that there are both continuities and discontinuities in activists support of the movements. There was also an identification of common social characteristics among the members of these movements. Interestingly, it is not the stigma that makes people leave these movements. Professor Patricia Birman and Dr Márcia Leite then discussed changes in the social movements in Rio de Janeiro in recent decades. One remarkable aspect is the large number of intellectuals who participate in these movements. This provoked the question how intellectuals handle their double role as an intellectual and an activist, and more importantly how this influences the way of doing politics in Rio. One result seems to be the link between religious movements and political participation. For example, the social movements against violence have created several strategies in which the idea of the pacification of the city is linked to religious symbols. It was suggested in the presentations that a civic religion has recently been developed, based on territory, the participation of NGOs, and volunteers who do not belong any specific social movement. The presentations were followed by a heated discussion. An observation was made that although the question of human rights is treated in both Brazil and Europe, the interpretations are different. The situation of the poor and the existence of a welfare state influence such differences between the two countries. The theme human rights and religion might be interesting for future research, perhaps in connection with empowerment and social integration. It was observed that it would be interesting for future research projects in Brazil to include interviews with people who cause violence. This perspective would introduce a new approach to the field. It was also suggested that the role of intellectuals involved in social movements in Brazil and Europe could be a good subject for a comparative research project. 6. Security Dr Claudio Beato s presentation was on the question of security in Brazilian society. The first aspect he elaborated was how difficult it is to articulate the causal dimensions of violence and the empirical material related to the data production. The gap between these levels makes public policies imprecise. According to Dr Beato, violence is not a direct result of poverty, but a result of multiple causes. In his presentation, he treated the dynamic of crimes in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte and the public strategies used to prevent crime. Dr Beato and his team have developed a sophisticated software program to show and analyze the crimes committed in Belo Horizonte. Several themes related to security and violence came up in the subsequent discussion. These were: 1) the relation with public heath: all problems related to domestic violence should be studied; 2) the economic and social consequences of violence: projects should integrate a focus on the economic cost of policies, social capital, and criminality; and 3) human rights: victims, social movements, and ways to prevent and to protect the population might be considered. 5.

7 7. Transnationalism Professor Henk Overbeek gave an introduction to research on the transnational political economy of corporate governance regulation, which has recently started at the VUA Department of Political Science ( Corporate governance refers to the rules and practices governing the power relations between stakeholders in the modern corporation. One of the key characteristics of the dominant literature on corporate governance is the normative approach, that is, the emphasis on identifying best practices. In legal studies, the emphasis is on protecting the property rights of shareholders, while in economic studies the key problem is that of control (of investors over managers). Further, corporate governance regulation is seen either as the independent variable or if it is seen as the dependent variable as an issue of comparing different national models (e.g. the Anglo-Saxon vs. the Continental European model). At the Amsterdam Research Center for Corporate Governance Regulation ( the focus is on the politics of corporate governance regulation in a transnational context. Here, transnational refers to actors, structures, and processes that are constituted in a social space which transcends national borders, instead of taking place simultaneously in various subnational and national arenas and in the international arena. Governance in the contemporary political economy is increasingly characterized by informalization and transnationalization, leading to a multiplicity of governance sites and modes, involving multiple combinations of intergovernmental and trans-governmental regulation, public-private regimes, and forms of private authority and self-regulation. The ARCCGOR program is specifically investigating the direction of change in the substance of corporate governance regulation internationally, as well as the shifts in the modes of governance, and is attempting to explain these changes by studying the configuration of political forces and societal interests behind these changes. The focus is on three areas in particular: the creation of a market for corporate control in the EU (e.g. through the new Takeover Directive), the introduction of a regime of corporate governance regulation in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of the communist regimes, and the struggle (especially between the US and the EU) over the adoption of new global accountancy standards. Exchange of teachers The participants discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and how the exchange of teachers can contribute to that. Everybody agreed that closer cooperation in terms of research would benefit from longer exchange periods, which can be organized through teachers exchanges. It was recommended that each partner university of the program make a proposal with the teachers who are interested in participating in the exchange. Such an application should describe in what forms the exchanges could take place (in terms of the financial and the organizational aspects) and present a work plan for the activities to be developed at the receiving university. Thus, a teacher who wishes to teach at one of the partner universities should describe the teaching and research he or she would like to conduct. Practical information such as when the teacher would arrive and who would fund the exchange should also be provided. 6.

8 At our first research seminar (Rio de Janeiro, April 2004; see Newsletter 1), it was decided that the proceedings of the seminars should be published. Two possible ways of doing so were discussed. The first is to start a book series or a series of edited volumes in which the proceedings of the seminars would be published every six months. Dr de Theije and Dr Martins are in contact with a large academic publisher that has shown interest in the idea. Various participants at the meeting were concerned about the time preparing such a publication would require. A decision has not been taken and the suggestion is still open. The second proposal is to create an electronic journal which would publish working papers, articles, and information about other activities within the network. How to create and run such a journal and how to find the necessary funding needs to be worked out. We would appreciate any suggestions regarding and/or experiences with this kind of work. April Amsterdam Workshop on Urban Security in a Comparative Perspective: Violence in Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro and Amsterdam. Organized by the FSS VUA. Research seminar on Security, Violence and Poverty. Organized by PFP VUA committee. September 2005 Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - Research Seminar on Religion. Organized by PFP UFRGS committee (to be confirmed). April 2006 Minas Gerais, Brazil Research Seminar on Media and Social Movements. Organized by PFP UFMG committee. Student mobility 2004 Publication strategy Agenda Several Bachelor students are participating in the exchange program. Last September, Michelle Lierop, Vanessa Platteel and Dania Schuurmann from the VUA went to study at the UFPE, while Daniel Brooke and Lucas Carneiro de Carvalho from the UFMG went to study at the VUA. In January 2005, Pedro Luiz da Silva Rego Lima of the UERJ will be going to the VUA, and Christian Laheij and Vania Ogenio of the VUA will be going to UERJ. Berend Malatoux of the VUA will spend a semester at the UFMG. To encourage VUA students to participate in the PFP exchange program, the local committee organized a Brazil Panel during the International Week, which coincided with the opening of the academic year at the VUA. Several students who 7.

9 have already spent some time studying abroad shared their experience with the audience and answered questions posed by potential participants. The presentations were given by two undergraduate students Ingrid Faas (VUA), who studied at the UFPE in 2002, and Daniel Brooke (UFMG), who is currently studying at the VUA and a PhD student, Dr Andrea Damacena Martins (UERJ), who spent a "sandwich" year at the VUA as part of her research. All three related their personal experiences and provided interesting insights into differences between their home university and the host university as regards the educational system. Paulo Freire Program house style We want to develop a house style in order to give more unity to the PFP and its activities at its partners locations. It was decided at the Rio meeting that the VUA would investigate the possibility of designing a logo and a style for letters, posters, brochures, web pages, etc. Such should reflect our common program while maintaining the link with our home universities. The VUA coordinator has found financial support for this project and a designer is now developing the PFP style. We hope to be able to send you the results in due course. This newsletter is also a try-out for the style. We hope you like it. Call for papers The theme of the second PFP research seminar (April 2005) will be Security, Violence and Poverty. The provisional topics for the workshops are Poverty and Violence, Religion, Violence, and Security, and Police and Politics: Accountability and Effectivity. Participating in the seminar which will be part of a larger event, Safety without Borders will be many Dutch and foreign scientists, such as Professors Barry Buzan (London School of Economics) and Saskia Sassen (University of Chicago and VUA). We would like to have representatives of all the partners attend the seminar. If you are interested in participating and/or have good ideas for papers or other activities, please contact Marjo de Theije or Andrea Martins as soon as possible. There are possibilities for funding available at the VUA, although we will not of course be able to arrange it for an unlimited number of people, so please also look for funding elsewhere. 8.

10 Coordinators and researchers Dr Carlos Steil (coordinator PFP UFRS) Dr Cecília Mariz (coordinator PFP UERJ) Dr Cor Stralen (coordinator PFP UFMG) Dr Marjo de Theije (coordinator VUA) mailto: Dr Parry Scott (coordinator PFP UFPE) mailto: Prof. André Droogers mailto: Prof. Bert Kandermans Prof. Brigit Meyer Dr Lorraine Nencel mailto: Prof. Henk Overbeek mailto: Dr Jaap Ouwerkerk mailto: Dr Lenie Brouwer mailto: Dr Peter Kerhof Prof. Claudia Fonseca mailto: Dr Claudio Beato mailto: Dr Márcia Leite mailto: Prof. Patrícia Birman mailto: Dr Rousylei Maia mailto: Brazilian professor opens academic year at the FSS Professor Claudia Fonseca delivers opening lecture First PFP research seminar PhD student Martijn Osterbaan, Prof Patrícia Birman, Prof Brigit Meyer, Dr Claudio Beato, Dr Márcia Leite, Dr Andrea Martins, Dr Edlaine Campos. Thematic sessions Dr Edlaine Campos, Dr Cecília Mariz and Dr Lenie Brouwer Student mobility Dr Cecília Mariz and Lucas Carneiro de Carvalho Call for papers Prof Claudia Fonseca PFP website Photo reference 9.