(Geo)politics of knowledge, racism, privilege and epistemic justice in Applied Linguistics in Brazil

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26512/les.v26i1.58197

Keywords:

Epistemic racism, Epistemic justice, Applied linguistics, Global South

Abstract

In this essay, I critically analyze the (geo)politics of knowledge in Brazilian Applied Linguistics, highlighting the effects of racism on academic policies in the field. Based on critical theories of the Global South (Pennycook; Makoni, 2019), with an emphasis on the production of Latin and Afro-indigenous Brazilian intellectuals, I use concepts such as the raciality device (Carneiro, 2023), epistemic racism and epistemic justice (Orocó, 2021) and the counter-colonial critique of the institutionalization of knowledge (Santos, 2023). Thus, I invest in the interpretative exploration of some current knowledge policies in the field, based on the observation of inclusion/exclusion policies in the linguistic, editorial and institutional domains and the racial, regional and class landscapes that result from them. The final proposition of the text calls for a break with colonial rationality that goes beyond the agendas of research topics, defending an academic ethic inspired by the epistemology of Xangô, with the aim of confronting the epistemic injustices present.

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Author Biography

Danillo da Conceição Pereira Silva, IFAL

É professor de Língua Portuguesa e Linguística Aplicada do Instituto Federal de Alagoas (IFAL), Campus Arapiraca, onde atua na Educação Básica; na licenciatura em Letras e na Pós-Graduação em Linguagem e Práticas Sociais. Atualmente, ocupa a função de Coordenador de Pós-Graduação da Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa, Pós-Graduação e Inovação (PRPPI) do IFAL, sendo o responsável pela gestão sistêmica da formação de pessoal de nível superior, no âmbito dos cursos de mestrado, de doutorado e de especialização da instituição.

References

MALDONADO-TORRES, Nelson. A topologia do Ser e a geopolítica do conhecimento: modernidade, império e colonialidade. Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais [Online], n. 80, 2008. Disponível em: http://journals.openedition.org/rccs/695. Acesso em: 1 out. 2012. DOI: 10.4000/rccs.695.

CARNEIRO, Sueli. Dispositivo de racialidade: a construção do outro como não ser como fundamento do ser. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2023. 431 p.

SANTOS, Antônio Bispo dos. A terra dá, a terra quer. São Paulo: Ubu Editora/PISEAGRAMA, 2023.

OROCÓ LOANGO, A. O racismo e a hegemonia do privilégio epistêmico. Revista de Filosofia Aurora, v. 33, n. 59, 2021. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.7213/1980-5934.33.059.DS05. Acesso em: 12 mai. 2025.

VERGER, Pierre Fatumbi. Orixás. Salvador: Corrupio, 2002.

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Published

2025-07-01

How to Cite

da Conceição Pereira Silva, D. (2025). (Geo)politics of knowledge, racism, privilege and epistemic justice in Applied Linguistics in Brazil. Papers of Language and Society, 26(1), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.26512/les.v26i1.58197

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 1 (2025): Special issue: A Linguística Aplicada do Sul Global: avanços e desafios |Applied Linguistics in the Global South: advances and challenges

Section

Ensaios

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Danillo da Conceição Pereira Silva

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