TRANSCIENCE

Volume 10, Issue 1 (2019)

Towards a Practical-Poietic, Materialist, Philosophical Point of View
Jose Crisóstomo de Souza
This short essay offers the sketch of a practical-poietic, material point of view in philosophy, in critical dialogue with the linguocentric neopragmatism of Jürgen Habermas and Richard Rorty, as well as with the practical historical, critical materialism of Karl Marx. The new point of view is articulated around notions such as practical-embodied intentionality, reality and ourselves as material activity, human action as eminently poietic, involving appropriation and objectivation, and finally linguocentrism as a bad idea. It also underscores the role of objects in our practices, in our own constitution as subjects and in that of society. Lastly, some of its possible positive, practical implications of it, for society and politics, are briefly indicated.

The processes of reclassification between domination and emancipation
Alejandro Bialakowsky
This article addresses the dynamic and multidimensional character of practical reclassification processes. By emphasizing its temporal and historical side, every classification turns out to be a reclassification, either of itself or of other classifications; there is no way to classify in an ahistorical void. In that context, two key orientations of these processes are pointed out: an oppressive one, linked to the production, reproduction, defense and expansion of dierent forms of domination; and an emancipatory one, related to the extension of the life possibilities of those who are dominated, exploited and subalternized. Thus, three dimensions of each of these orientations are deployed: regarding oppressive reclassifications, sharp cleavages, violence and standardization; regarding emancipatory ones, interconnection, radicality and re exivity. Although they can be studied separately, it is necessary to establish a comprehensive outlook that understands how they configure and reconfigure each other in a given epochal framework. Likewise, it is considered fundamental to highlight that sociology and other social sciences and humanities can also intervene with their own reclassifications in the two orientations of these processes, particularly, in the re exive dimension of emancipatory reclassifications, both through studies on global contemporaneity and through theoretical-analytical perspectives focused on the dynamics of reclassification itself.

Brazilian Cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa (2003-2010)
David Beltrão Simons Tavares de Albuquerque
The purpose of this paper is to address the Brazilian cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa between 2003 and 2010. Process-tracing methods are tools for studying causal mechanisms in a single-case research design, such as this period in Brazilian cooperation in Africa, given the historical oscillations of Brazilian policy toward this continent. The first part of the article will present the methodological aspects of the research through an analysis of theory-building process-tracing. A literature review is presented from which emerges the main empirical explanations of the process of establishing cooperation projects, in order to identify the different mechanisms pointed out by the literature. In the second part, the analysis of the causal mechanisms that would influence the process through the dialogue between theory and data is reported. According to the data found so far, it can be observed that the institutionalization of multilateral agencies with strategic states for Brazil, such as the CPLP, and their use by Presidential Diplomacy constitute the causal mechanisms between the independent and dependent variables.

Empowerment, identity and appropriation: How globalisation inhibits Brazil's local music industry
Andrew Kemp
Culture plays an important role as both an indicator of and contributor to societal status, making it both a symbol of position and a vital tool to facilitate empowerment. Taking Sao Paulo's only vinyl pressing plant, Vinil Brasil, as its case study, this essay explores the role of music in Brazilian identity construction, and the subsequent conflict that surrounds its production amidst the overpowering influence of global forces on the domestic music scene. Drawing on an interview with Vinil Brasil's owner Michel Nath, the article seeks to identify how Brazilian music has been subject to commodification, appropriation and monopolisation by foreign companies, and how local stakeholders like Nath have been attempting to counter such forces to rebalance the relationship between the creators of Brazil's cultural artefacts and those with the power to produce and market it. Grounding the research in the cultural theory of Bourdieu, Nederveen Pieterse and various other scholars, the article will emphasise the importance of autonomy to a domestic music scene, and seek to highlight the myriad ways in which Brazilian musicians are engaged in an important and protracted struggle to resist the powerful forces of globalisation.

Clashing Imaginations: Student activism and the Macedonian Question
Vasilis Alexiadis
This paper investigates the processes and spaces that led and influenced high-school students to protest during 2018-2019 against the resolution of the Macedonian Question. It is stressed that nationalist-sentiment, that defines such mobilizations, is a result of clashing imaginations towards a past that has been incorporated into two distinct national-histories. Processes of active but also banal nationalism inculcate a historical consciousness into one's ontology, including prejudices about the "other" and preconceived notions about the national-ownership over Macedonia and its cultural heritage. This consciousness introduces, from an early age, a sense of duty and obligation to act, mobilize, and sacrifice oneself when the nation and the integrity of its history are endangered. For the protesting students, as this article will illustrate through conversations with them, the resolution of the Macedonian Question was perceived as such a threat. It is stressed that once a nation claims ownership over the national-history of another nation, the latter's ontology is put into jeopardy. Instinctual feelings of insecurity and fear arise and right-wing mobilizations follow. Spaces such as the school, church, and sports, this paper reveals, are governed by nationalistic narratives, ethnocentrism, and homogeneity of opinions. As such, they actively influence and radicalize students. In this direction, conspiracy theories thrive in the aforementioned spaces which provide a resolution to and externalization of primary emotions that seek satiation and relief.

Towards a postcolonial sociology? A conversation with Professor Ari Sitas
Renny Thomas