De objeto à sujeita: Zora Neale Hurston e os estudos da raça e da cultura no início do século XX
Data
2023-02-20
Autores
Lourenço, Vanessa Cândida 
Orientadores
Araújo, Melvina Afra Mendes de
Tipo
Dissertação de mestrado
Título da Revista
ISSN da Revista
Título de Volume
Resumo
Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar e analisar a trajetória e produção da
antropóloga e literata afro-americana Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Nascida na
cidade de Notasulga no Alabama, Hurston participou do movimento do Renascença
do Harlem em meados dos anos 1920, e foi aluna do antropólogo alemão Franz
Boas, um dos principais responsáveis pela crítica ao evolucionismo cultural nos
EUA. Sua obra, que passou por um período de esquecimento, é “resgatada” em
meados dos anos 1970 pela escritora Alice Walker (1944), em um contexto de
debate sobre a valorização dos escritos de e por mulheres negras. Inicio com uma
breve descrição desse período de resgate da obra da autora no fim do século XX.
Utilizo a noção de posicionalidade proposta por Abu-Lughod (2018) para situar o debate que
contextualiza o “resgate” da obra de Zora Hurston, e para a promoção da crítica a uma
produção antropológica supostamente “objetiva”, entendendo-a ao invés disso enquanto uma
produção situada, e utilizo a noção de interseccionalidade (Brah, 2004) na consideração de
como a experiência da autora enquanto mulher afro-estadunidense atravessa sua obra e seu
reconhecimento (ou a produção de sua ausência). Também mobilizo as noções de Michel
Trouillot de “silenciamento” e “evidenciamento” para tratar da ação de intelectuais
negras que como Walker se engajaram na valorização e disseminação da obra de
escritoras como Zora Hurston. Busco entender como a obra de Hurston é recebida no
Brasil, a partir de quem ela chega e a partir de quais perspectivas é lida. Também
examino quais as propostas de Hurston em relação ao que chamamos de
“representação negra” na literatura negra estadunidense produzida no contexto do
movimento de Ranascença do Harlem e comparo a proposta de representação de
Hurston com a de outras/os escritoras/es do movimento. Por fim, analiso as
contribuições da antropóloga no que se refere às teorizações no campo das
discussões sobre raça nos EUA na primeira metade do século XX, tanto nos
domínios da antropologia, quanto da literatura, e busco entender, como a autora se
posicionava em relação a essas teorizações e os diálogos estabelecidos com suas/seus
contemporâneas/os, como o antropólogo estadunidense Melville Herskovits, assim
como, os deslocamentos empreendidos por ela em seus escritos.
This paper aims to investigate and analyze the trajectory and production of African American anthropologist and literate Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Born in Notasulga, Alabama, Hurston participated in the Harlem Renaissance movement in the mid-1920s, and was a student of the German anthropologist Franz Boas, one of the main authors of the critique of cultural evolutionism in the USA. Her work, which went through a period of oblivion, was "rescued" in the mid-1970s by the writer Alice Walker (1944), in a context of debate about the valorization of the writings of and by black women. I begin with a brief description of this period of rescue of the author's work at the end of the twentieth century. I use the notion of positionality proposed by Abu-Lughod (2018) to situate the debate that contextualizes the "rescue" of Zora Hurston's work, and to further the critique of a supposedly "objective" anthropological production, understanding it instead as a situated production, and I use the notion of intersectionality (Brah, 2004) in considering how the author's experience as an African-American woman runs through her work and its recognition (or the production of its absence). I also mobilize Michel Trouillot's notions of "silencing" and "evidencing" to address the actions of black intellectuals who, like Walker, have engaged in the valorization and dissemination of the work of women writers like Zora Hurston. I seek to understand how Hurston's work is received in Brazil, from whom it comes, and from what perspectives it is read. I also examine Hurston's proposals in relation to what we call "black representation" in American black literature produced in the context of the Harlem Renaissance movement and compare Hurston's proposal for representation with that of other writers of the movement. Finally, I analyze the anthropologist's contributions to the theorization of race in the US in the first half of the twentieth century, both in the fields of anthropology and literature. I seek to understand how the author positioned herself in relation to these theorizations and the dialogues established with her contemporaries, such as the American anthropologist Melville Herskovits, as well as the displacements she undertook in her writings.
This paper aims to investigate and analyze the trajectory and production of African American anthropologist and literate Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960). Born in Notasulga, Alabama, Hurston participated in the Harlem Renaissance movement in the mid-1920s, and was a student of the German anthropologist Franz Boas, one of the main authors of the critique of cultural evolutionism in the USA. Her work, which went through a period of oblivion, was "rescued" in the mid-1970s by the writer Alice Walker (1944), in a context of debate about the valorization of the writings of and by black women. I begin with a brief description of this period of rescue of the author's work at the end of the twentieth century. I use the notion of positionality proposed by Abu-Lughod (2018) to situate the debate that contextualizes the "rescue" of Zora Hurston's work, and to further the critique of a supposedly "objective" anthropological production, understanding it instead as a situated production, and I use the notion of intersectionality (Brah, 2004) in considering how the author's experience as an African-American woman runs through her work and its recognition (or the production of its absence). I also mobilize Michel Trouillot's notions of "silencing" and "evidencing" to address the actions of black intellectuals who, like Walker, have engaged in the valorization and dissemination of the work of women writers like Zora Hurston. I seek to understand how Hurston's work is received in Brazil, from whom it comes, and from what perspectives it is read. I also examine Hurston's proposals in relation to what we call "black representation" in American black literature produced in the context of the Harlem Renaissance movement and compare Hurston's proposal for representation with that of other writers of the movement. Finally, I analyze the anthropologist's contributions to the theorization of race in the US in the first half of the twentieth century, both in the fields of anthropology and literature. I seek to understand how the author positioned herself in relation to these theorizations and the dialogues established with her contemporaries, such as the American anthropologist Melville Herskovits, as well as the displacements she undertook in her writings.
Descrição
Citação
LOURENÇO, Vanessa Cândida. De objeto à sujeita: Zora Neale Hurston e os estudos da raça e da cultura no início do século XX. Dissertação de Mestrado – Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo. São Paulo, 125f. 2023.