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ALICE Epistemologies of the South Research Programme
Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Bruno Sena Martins, Cristiano Gianolla, João Arriscado Nunes, José Manuel Mendes, Maria Paula Meneses, Sara Araújo, Teresa Cunha (Team of Core Researchers, all based at CES (Center of Social Studies), University of Coimbra)
2017
Keywords: southern epistemologies, ecology of knowledges, intercultural translation
Threads: (Un)framing Knowledge, Cooperating with(in) arts and culture, Inquiring
Short description
Personal appreciation
His concept of “knowledge ecologies” that consist of heterogenous knowledges and knowledge formations, is meant to profoundly challenge what he calls “the indolent reason” of Western modernity. It means to accept the coexistence of diverse and sometimes conflicting ways to produce knowledge (and to relate to it). Between different knowledge ecologies a translation – aware of their different epistemological, ontological and methodological foundations - is needed. The research, documentation (and prevention) of forms of “epistemicide”, such as those referred to by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, committed by colonisers of the Americas, seems to me a very important task for the humanities not only in a de-colonial context but also in relation to epistemicides committed during the holocaust, in dictatorial regimes or during war – or simply by ignoring and marginalizing subaltern origins and forms of knowledge (cf. oral, artistic, corporeal, vernacular, tacit knowledges etc.).
Contribution to the "Who knows?" handbook
Material(s)
Link to material #2 - Announcement and description of the 2022 International Summer School Epistemologies of the South (6th edition) with this year’s subject “Existing, Resisting, and Fighting through the Arts”, taking place online via zoom from 27 June to 7 July 2022
Link to material #3 - Open access version of the 2007 edited volume Another Knowledge is Possible. Beyond Northern Epistemologies, organised by chapters.
Additional Information
Location | Coimbra, Portugal Partners e.g.: UPMS Popular University of Social Movements, Porto Alegre, Brazil |
Original language(s) | Portuguese |
Existing translations | English, Spanish |
Length | |
Project runtime | 2017 - |
Institution of affiliation | Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal CES – Centro de Estudos Sociais |
Sponsor(s) | Follow-up to the ERC-funded research project ALICE Now sponsored by various organisms including the University of Coimbra, the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), The EU-European Fund for Regional Development and the Portuguese Programs PORTUGAL 2020 and COMPETE 2020 |
Additional Pictures

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