The inauguration ceremony of the IEAT Darcy Ribeiro Chair: Sovereignty, Education and Politics will be held on December 2nd. The event will feature the participation of professor Denise Ferreira da Silva, from New York University, who will give the opening lecture of the chair.

The activity is open to the general public, upon registration via the UFMG Event Management System (GES). Certificates will be issued to those who register and sign the attendance list on the day of the event. The event is subject to auditorium capacity (270 seats).

At 9 am, the opening table will be attended by the rector Sandra Regina Goulart Almeida, the director of IEAT, Patrícia Kauark Leite, and the patron of the chair, Federal Deputy Patrus Ananias.

Next, Denise Ferreira da Silva will give the conference About Unpayable Debt in reference to a book she authored, which presents reflections on the architecture of the global present from a black feminist perspective.

Released in May 2024, The Unpayable Debt is inspired by the novel Kindred: Blood Ties, by Octavia Butler, in which Dana, a black writer, is transported from Los Angeles in the 1970s to the pre-Civil War South of the United States. of Maryland, to save the life of the son of a slave owner, who is also his ancestor. Denise Ferreira da Silva delves into the concept of “unpayable debt” – a debt that someone owes but is not theirs to pay – relating post-Enlightenment understandings of value (in its ethical and economic senses) to colonial subjugation. Focusing on the philosophical foundations of these interpretations of value, the author shows how coloniality and raciality function in the legal, ethical, and symbolic systems that facilitate the expropriation of labor and land extraction that are essential to capital accumulation.

At the conference, Denise Ferreira da Silva will outline a possible interpretation of how her book’s argument is inspired by the main character of the novel Kindred: Laços de Sangue; an interpretation that focuses on the deviations that the character generates from a modern philosophical point of view. According to Ferreira da Silva “in addition to the metaphysical problems that the plot poses, Dana’s rupture with modern onto-epistemological intrastructures allows us to consider (and experiment) the possibility of thinking beyond these existing restrictions and their deadly consequences”.

Then, three conferences will highlight the various facets of Darcy Ribeiro, including his work as an anthropologist, educator, sociologist, and his influence on the understanding of Brazilian identity.

At 11 am, professor Carlos Roberto Jamil Cury, emeritus of the Faculty of Education (FaE) at UFMG will give the conference Darcy Ribeiro and Education. Jamil Cury will focus on his contributions to education, such as the founding of the University of Brasília and his proposals for educational reform in the country. In the afternoon, at 2:30 pm, indigenous leader Ailton Krenak, immortal at the Brazilian Academy of Letters and CALAS-IEAT professor (2021), will give the conference Darcy Ribeiro and indigenous peoples. Ailton Krenak will address his work in anthropology, emphasizing his studies on Brazilian indigenous cultures and his defense of the rights of original peoples.

To close the event, at 3:45 pm, professor Leonardo Avritzer, from the Department of Political Science (DCP) at UFMG, will give the Darcy Ribeiro conference between sociology and politics. Leonardo Avritzer will discuss the role of Darcy Ribeiro’s thought in sociology and political science, analyzing how his ideas reflect his commitment to building a more just and inclusive society.

Patrícia Kauark, director of IEAT, explains that these conferences aim to present a comprehensive view of Darcy Ribeiro’s multifaceted legacy, highlighting his continued importance in the Brazilian intellectual and cultural scene.

Darcy Ribeiro Chair
The IEAT Darcy Ribeiro Chair, dedicated to the theme of Sovereignty, Education and Politics, with the support of Federal Deputy Patrus Ananias, pays tribute to Darcy Ribeiro for his decisive contributions in the areas of anthropology, education and Brazilian culture and, as founder of the University of Brasília, where a new conception of interdisciplinary knowledge emerged.