Authors:
Jorge Miguel Viana Pedreira
Abstract:
In this interview, James Green, a prominent Brazilianist, tells us about his interest in Brazilian history, his life as a civic and political activist against authoritarianism in Brazil and for gay and lesbian rights, and his academic work and career. The purpose of the interview, besides bringing his work to a wider audience of European historians and social scientists, is to reflect on the relationship between academic work and political and ideological activism, and to discuss the problems of subjectivism and the use of individual testimonie (...)
In this interview, James Green, a prominent Brazilianist, tells us about his interest in Brazilian history, his life as a civic and political activist against authoritarianism in Brazil and for gay and lesbian rights, and his academic work and career. The purpose of the interview, besides bringing his work to a wider audience of European historians and social scientists, is to reflect on the relationship between academic work and political and ideological activism, and to discuss the problems of subjectivism and the use of individual testimonies in the making of contemporary history. We invited James Green to reflect on those matters, so he could share with us the views of someone who, because of the nature of his work, could not help but deal permanently with such questions. Nesta entrevista, James Green, um importante “brasilianista”, fala-nos sobre o seu interesse pelo história do Brasil, sobre a sua vida como militante cívico e político contra o autoritarismo no Brasil e a favor dos direitos de gays e lésbicas, e ainda sobre a sua carreira e o seu trabalho académico. O objetivo da entrevista, além de levar o seu trabalho a um público mais amplo de historiadores e cientistas sociais europeus, é refletir sobre a relação entre o trabalho académico e o ativismo político e ideológico, e discutir os problemas do subjetivismo e do uso de testemunhos individuais na construção da história contemporânea. Convidámos James Green a refletir sobre esses problemas, para que pudesse compartilhar connosco as opiniões de alguém que, devido à natureza do seu trabalho, não pôde deixar de se confrontar permanentemente com tais questões. Dans cet entretien, James Green, un important spécialiste de l’histoire moderne du Brésil, nous parle de son intérêt pour le Brésil, de sa vie de militant civique et politique contre l’autoritarisme au Brésil et pour les droits des gays et lesbiennes, ainsi que de sa carrière et de son travail universitaire. L’entretien a pour but de présenter son travail à un public plus large d’historiens et de spécialistes des sciences sociales européens, mais aussi de réfléchir sur le rapport entre travail universitaire et activisme politique et idéologique, et de discuter les problèmes du subjectivisme et de l’usage de témoignages individuels dans la construction de l’histoire contemporaine. Nous avons invité James Green à réfléchir sur ces questions pourqu’il puisse partager avec nous le point de vue de quelqu’un qui, en raison de la nature de son travail, ne pourrait s’empêcher de faire toujours face à ces questions.
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