SuperSaberes - the construction of the Superintendence of Traditional Knowledge at UFRJ

Abstract

This article is a cartography of the construction process of the Superintendence of Traditional Knowledge at UFRJ, located in the Forum of Science and Culture, the body that coordinates policies for cultural diffusion and scientific dissemination at UFRJ with the objective of promoting cross-cutting actions between the various áreas of the knowledge and strengthenties between the University and civil society. Known as SuperSaberes, this management space is the result of the fight for the recognition of traditional knowledge and popular cultures at the University, coordinated by researchers who, over more than three decades, have been developing work at UFRJ with groups belonging to these communities. A construction woven by friendly sharing and collectively embroidered by the hands of masters of tradition and UFRJ academics inspired and infected by experiences of inclusion of masters of traditional knowledge in Brazilian public universities. The  relevance of this manuscript is contextualized to the fact that it recognizes the creation of SuperSaberes as part of the achievements of groups historically violated of their rights in the face of a society structured by racism and the colonial logic still present in the country. It is important to contextualize that the origin of UFRJ is linked to higher education to serve a social and economic elite, but through out its history, it has been crossed by various social, political and epistemological movements, driving transformations. One of these achievements was the democratization of Access through the implementation of Law nº 12,711/2012, known as the Quota Law, which made public universities more plural and diversified. The Law boosted substantial changes in institutional policies, content, programs, menus and references, as well as the entry of students from Black and indigenous communities, posing a new challenge to the university: permanence. In the narratives of these students within the academy, there is an echo of the clamor for the presence of professors and referential bases specific to their peoples, instead of being forced to move within a Euro-Christian referential base, which many times appear as the place of colonizer in its marks, histories and community memories. It is thus, although late in relation to the implementation of policies and affirmative actions related to quotas and the inclusion of traditional knowledge at UFRJ, that this cry calls us to the institutionalization of this the meand this agenda of demands. Finally, we aim to present the important steps taken, and still in franksteps, towards the construction and strengthening of this important institutional space for the management of traditional knowledgeand popular cultures at UFRJ. An invitation article to build new theoretical, institutional, community and spiritual alliances that can help in this unique moment at UFRJ, guiding the next stages of facing the challenges and meeting the joys of fair victories that are pointed out on the horizon.