CARNIVAL AND UNIVERSITY RESEARCH: ANTHROPOLOGY, ARTS, AND LITERATURE IN DIALOGUE

Abstract

The interview brings narratives and experiences of research and studies on carnival in the academic environment in the areas of anthropology, arts, and literature. The trajectories of professors Felipe Ferreira (Arts Institute/UERJ), Fred Góes (Postgraduate Program in Literature Science/UFRJ), and Maria Laura Cavalcanti (Postgraduate Program in Sociology and Anthropology/UFRJ) address the potential for theoretical innovation brought by approaching carnival in the human and social sciences, unfolding a path opened by the pioneering work of anthropologist Roberto DaMatta in the 1970s. The dialogue between different disciplinary perspectives on carnival reveals its multiple planes and broad social worlds. It reveals ideologies, worldviews, forms of art and culture, networks of relationships and national and transnational cultural exchanges that illuminate, in an always surprising way, the contemporary social dynamics. The interview is based on the testimonials brought during the fruitful conversation promoted in 2020 by the UFPE’s Museológicas podcast. It also reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic impact on this great Brazilian celebration.