Epistemologies of the South
8th Cohort (2023-2024) | VIRTUAL MODE
Specialization: 40 credits, 360 lecture hours
International course: 9 credits, 90 lecture hours
Duration: April 2023 to March 2024
The certification of the Specialization and the International Course will be carried out by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso Brazil) and by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).
ACADEMIC COORDINATION:
Karina Bidaseca (CLACSO, National University of San Martín and University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) and María Paula Meneses (University of Coimbra, Portugal)
GENERAL DIRECTOR
Rita Gomes do Nascimento (FLACSO Brazil) and Karina Batthyány (CLACSO)
We live in turbulent and complex times. The Epistemologies of the South, as proposed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, advocate for the expansion of political imagination beyond the intellectual and political exhaustion of the Global North. This exhaustion translates into an inability to confront the challenges of this century and into threats to democracy, law, and human dignity. The Global South, the South we will be discussing in this course, is a metaphor for the human suffering caused by the major forms of oppression—capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy—and the various forms of struggle and resistance against these oppressions. In this sense, the Epistemologies of the South seek to broaden the possibilities of rethinking the world based on the knowledge and practices of the Global South, challenging attempts at epistemicide, linguicide, or epistemic subalternization. In this scenario, the Epistemologies of the South provide theoretical and methodological tools that allow for the development of a critical diagnosis of the present, which has as its constitutive element the possibility of reconstructing, formulating and legitimizing alternatives for a more just and free society.
The Specialization and the International Course are based on three fundamental axes based on the Epistemologies of the South:
- That the interpretation of the world transcends the Eurocentric interpretation of it;
- That global social justice is not possible without global cognitive justice;
- The emancipatory transformations produced in the world cannot be confined to grammars and scripts developed by critical theory centered on the Global North; on the contrary, the Epistemologies of the South claim a diversity of knowledges that support the social struggles that are important to (re)cognize and value.
This training space, focused on promoting South-South interdisciplinary dialogues, seeks to document and interpret the knowledge that underpins social struggles in our times and societies. This knowledge is not solely academic; it encompasses the knowledge of artists, farmers, activists, and many others. Simultaneously, the objective is to study the Global South in all its diversity—a South that metaphorically represents a vast field of economic, social, cultural, and political innovation of increasing diversity, in which dialogues between different forms of knowledge reflect the conditions of pluriversality.
Students trained through this specialization must:
- Understanding the main characteristics that define current societies with respect to social and political issues that characterize the diversity of the Global South.
- Identify the institutional conditions, as well as the instruments of government to promote public policies committed to the defense of human rights.
- To record and interpret the knowledge that underpins social struggles in our times and in our societies.
- Develop theoretical-argumentative production skills on the topics covered throughout the course.
The Specialization and the International Course are aimed at university graduates; postgraduate students; teachers; activists and members of trade unions, social movements and political parties; public officials; press workers; members and managers of non-governmental organizations and interested professionals in the subject matter.
A university degree/undergraduate degree or equivalent is required.
Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
La Specialization in Epistemologies of the South It lasts 12 months and requires the following for accreditation:
- An international course
- Two elective virtual seminars from the curriculum
- A writing support workshop
- The preparation of a final integrative project
The Specialization accredits 360 hours/teacher of work and is certified by CLACSO and FLACSO Brazil.
El International Course It can be taken independently without enrolling in the Specialization program. It lasts 12 months. It accredits 90 hours/chair and is certified by CLACSO and FLACSO Brazil.
Students will have the support of academic tutors who will accompany them through the different curricular areas and guide them in the completion of final projects.
CLARIFICATION: Those who enroll in the complete Specialization should not enroll in the International Course separately.
Course materials will be offered in both Spanish and Portuguese. Similarly, the course bibliography may be provided in either of the two official languages. Student contributions to discussion forums may also be in these languages. The final research paper may be written in either Spanish or Portuguese.
Epistemologies of the South and knowledge born from social struggles
This international course on Epistemologies of the South aims to present and discuss knowledge produced in the Global South, providing a foundation for reflection on social transformation in our times. In other words, through the study of the diverse possibilities revealed by Epistemologies of the South, this course has the theoretical and methodological objective of overcoming the characteristic Eurocentric model of modern thought, namely, abyssal thinking.
Understanding from and with the Global South requires a distinct political and epistemic orientation. The Global South, the central theme of this course, seeks to recognize and validate the knowledge produced by the oppressed, by women and men who have suffered and continue to suffer injustice, oppression, domination, and exclusion caused by capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy. Epistemologies of the South, as a metaphor for the exclusion, silencing, and destruction of peoples and knowledge systems, seek to give form to the knowledge and experiences of the Global South, based on methodological and reflective assumptions in dialogue, in opposition to any ethnocentric approach.
The course instructors will explore, from diverse geopolitical and epistemic perspectives, the conditions for horizontal dialogue between different forms of knowledge, for ecologies of knowledge. These dialogues, and the lessons they offer, reflect the innovations taking place in countries and regions of the Global South. This demanding approach presupposes a willingness to recognize one another, intercultural understanding, political and ideological convergence, respect for identity, and a celebration of diversity, as conditions for a more democratic dialogue in the Global South.
Building knowledge from the Epistemologies of the South requires different working methodologies. Learning from the South itself, in its diversity, means going beyond conventional academic knowledge. Constructing dialogues between different forms of knowledge and struggles seeks to give visibility to the peoples and social groups whose practices are built upon this knowledge. Only in this way will it be possible to develop alternative narratives that challenge the impossibility of considering difference (sexual, ethnic, racial, class, caste, religious, etc.) in conjunction with equality, the intimate connection between the local and the global, and the projects of other economies and other political societies. The second part of the course proposes to map, present, and discuss a variety of working methodologies anchored in the body of knowledge developed from the perspectives of the Epistemologies of the South, prioritizing the ecology of knowledges and the possibilities of intercultural translation between knowledges born from struggles.
Summary: This workshop aims to support the development of final projects for the Specialization in Epistemologies of the South. It will assist in identifying the topic of the final project by interconnecting the themes covered throughout the International Course with the students' research/action interests and individual learning paths. The workshop seeks to support the identification and justification of the chosen topic; consolidate the conceptual and methodological tools developed; and support the production of the final project, which may be written, audiovisual, performative, or of another genre.
Coordination: Karina Bidaseca (CLACSO, National University of San Martín and University of Buenos Aires, Argentina)
First semester
Summary: The seminar proposes an exploration of contemporary migration theories and their interpretations from Latin America, as well as focusing on material and symbolic sites in modern colonial history and the present day, such as the Mediterranean Sea and internal diasporic circuits within Africa and from Africa to Latin America. It will delve into categories such as intersectionality and differential inclusion, contemporary migration policies, conflicts, and experiences of struggle at borders.
Coordination: Karina Bidaseca (National University of San Martín, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Maura Brighenti (National University of San Martín, Argentina).
Summary: The aim of this course is to discuss how the coloniality of power is inscribed on bodies marked by gender and social class. Coloniality is an open wound that leaves an indelible mark on bodies. Our proposal is that a situated and liberating aesthetic, such as that practiced by the artists considered here, allows us to break with the legacy of victimization and violence. In this course, we engage in dialogue with other writings that also reflect on the importance of a situated and liberating aesthetic. The course's greatest contribution is exposing students to a broad network of theorists who construct different interpretations of situated thought on the coloniality of power. Based on this, students will review critical theories on decolonial aesthetics and how it applies to the following artists: Ana Mendieta, Zanele Muholi, Regina José Galindo, Shirin Neshat, Fatima Mernissi, Teresa Margolles, Adriana Varejao, Joyce Kozlof, Mona Hatoum, among others.
Coordination: Marta Sierra (Kenyon College, United States) and Karina Bidaseca (CLACSO, National University of San Martín and University of Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Second semester
Summary: In many societies of the global South, deeply marked by the colonial relationship, the knowledge about their history is built on assumptions, methodologies and sources that perpetuate the maintenance of Eurocentric perspectives. This is a colonial heritage that is intended to be replaced by an agenda of production of plural knowledge and intercultural translations, starting from an analytical perspective on oral, collective and personal histories, starting from the arts and two creative spaces.
The seminar presents research carried out in various social and political contexts, reflecting on how to educate new generations about the histories and struggles for social justice that are found in the cultural and artistic expressions such as cinema, literature, theatre, music, plastic arts, oral narratives, street arts, privileged groups for communicate, produce knowledge about these stories and their cultural identities.
Coordination: Marisa Ramos Gonçalves, María Paula Meneses and Iolanda Vasile (CES – Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra)
Summary: STAND South Training Network Action of Decoloniality is an interdisciplinary research group born from the collective desire to generate research synergies in the fields of social sciences, environmental sciences, and humanities. Therefore, we have set out to foster comparative reflection with sectors both within and outside academia on our core areas of work: decolonial studies, environmental knowledge, and processes of building decolonial resistance in the context of human rights and peace processes. Building new social projects is our challenge in the field of social research, and we believe we can foster future collaborations. This commitment to situated research, both socially and politically, compels us to break with and transcend Eurocentric frameworks of thought, and we are generating research from Latin American contexts—as demonstrated by our active projects—as well as from Asian and African contexts. We are committed to the concept of Socio-Environmental Epistemologies. Narratives for Reexistence from the Global South is a training forum for researchers from Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and Argentina with projects in American, African, and European contexts that examine the relationships between human societies and nature throughout recent history. We structure concepts methodologically at the intersection of Environmental History, Political Ecology, and Peace Research to build inter-epistemic boundary knowledge.
Coordination: Antonio Ortega (South Training Network Action of Decoloniality, University of Granada, Spain)
CM PlenosIf you belong to a Full Member Center of CLACSO.
CM Associates: Yes You belong to a CLACSO Associated Centre.
No linkIf you DO NOT has any of these links with CLACSO.
| Discount for payments made by 10/04 | A payment after 10/04 | Payment in 3 installments | |
| CM Plenos | $460 | $570 | USD 750 (3 x 250 USD) |
| CM Associates | $590 | $700 | USD 1020 (3 x 340 USD) |
| No link | $660 | $960 | USD 1290 (3 x 430 USD) |
In all cases, payment can be made by credit card, deposit or bank transfer.
CM PlenosIf you belong to a CLACSO Full Member Center
CM Associates: Yes You belong to a CLACSO Associated Centre
No linkIf you DO NOT has any of these links with CLACSO
| Discount for payments made by 10/04 | A payment after 10/04 | Payment in 3 installments | |
| CM Plenos | $175 | $230 | USD 315 (3 x 105 USD) |
| CM Associates | $235 | $290 | USD 420 (3 x 140 USD) |
| No link | $300 | $360 | USD 540 (3 x 180 USD) |
In all cases, payment can be made by credit card, deposit or bank transfer.
The certification of the Specialization and the International Course will be carried out by the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (Flacso Brazil) and by the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).
The Specialization and the International Course are aimed at university graduates; postgraduate students; teachers; activists and members of trade union organizations, social movements and political parties; public officials; press workers; members and managers of non-governmental organizations and professionals interested in the subject.
A university degree/undergraduate qualification is required.
You will need to complete the form available on the website.
Registration will be open between December 2022 and April 2023 through this website.
Upon completion of the registration process, you will receive a confirmation email. On the first day of the course, you will receive your login details for the online platform.
If any of the mandatory training sessions are owed, in all cases, an additional amount must be paid in order to retake said credit.
Exceptional criteria: In exceptional cases (health, family, or humanitarian reasons) and within the first two months of the start of any course, students may request to withdraw from the cohort and resume it the following year. In all cases, the reasons justifying the request must be submitted in writing. After two months from the start of the course, no requests will be accepted.
Money paid will only be refunded in cases where the organizing institutions decide to cancel the activity.
The classes will take place from April 2023 to March 2024.
All students will receive the necessary instructions to access classes, bibliography, and discussion forums through the virtual platform.
Accessing and navigating the Virtual Learning Environment is very simple and user-friendly. In any case, a technical and academic support team will always be available to you.
You must pass the International Course, two (2) elective Virtual Seminars, the methodological workshop and complete the final integrative work.
All training courses must be completed and passed - without exception - in order to receive the digital certificate of completion.
To obtain the certificate of completion for the Specialization, you must complete a final monograph. The methodological workshop is mandatory and aims to support you in the completion of this final project.
You must participate in the classes and activities proposed by the teachers and complete the final monograph.
The Specialization and the International Course are accredited Offered by FLACSO Brazil and CLACSO. The specialization has a total workload of 360 hours, and the international course 90 hours. Certificates of completion for both activities, as well as certificates of passed subjects for the specialization, will be sent digitally and are completely free of charge.
The International Specialist diploma and academic transcript, printed and apostilled, are issued by the General Secretariat of FLACSO, located in Costa Rica. Students who wish to arrange for the issuance and delivery of these documents can find the fees and procedures on the FLACSO Brazil website. https://flacso.org.br/tramitacion-de-titulos-y-certificados-2/
Students can request and pay for the issuance and shipping of the apostilled International Specialist diploma. This diploma is issued by the General Secretariat of FLACSO, located in Costa Rica. Afterward, students must complete the validation process according to the regulations in force in each country. The fees and procedures for issuing and shipping the apostilled diploma can be found on the FLACSO Brazil website. https://flacso.org.br/tramitacion-de-titulos-y-certificados-2/
Please refer to the price table under the item “Payment methods”.
If, after successfully completing the Specialization, you wish to obtain the apostilled Diploma and academic transcript issued by FLACSO, you will need to pay an additional fee.*
* The issuance of the printed diploma, along with the academic transcript, costs USD 222 (two hundred twenty-two US dollars). This fee includes shipping the printed and signed documents to the student's address. Procedures for issuing and shipping the apostilled diploma can be found on the Flacso Brazil website. https://flacso.org.br/tramitacion-de-titulos-y-certificados-2/
For any other questions, please contact us at [email protected] o [email protected]
Or send a WhatsApp message to + 5491138801388
For group and institutional discounts, please contact us. [email protected]
More specializations and international courses
[widget id=”glob_block_5_widget-42″]
If you would like to receive more information about CLACSO's training programs:
[widget id=”custom_html-57″]
to our email lists.
