Conscientização e fetichização
Readers of Paulo Freire in English have tended to get excited about his term ‘conscientization’, as it has been translated from the Portuguese ‘conscientização’. It has come to mean, for followers of Freire, a deep learning, rooted in the experience of oppression and the decolonization of the mind. But it seems it would be more accurate to say that Freire was inaugurating a particular kind of ‘conscientization’ since it is used in Brazil to refer to the most didactic of awareness campaign type activities, such as to combat dengue fever (see Nossa Região: ‘Vigilância realiza arrastão contra dengue’, here).
Just a thought.
Conscientização
n.
1.To \’wise up\’, as in \’\'Você precisa se conscientizar\’\’ (You have to wise up). Polite synonym to \’\'Se liga, mané!\’\’ (Wise up, bob!);
2.Mind power, as in \’\'Conscientize seu tumor desaparecendo\’\’ (Imagine your tumor disappearing);
3.To indoctrinate: \’\'Precisamos conscientizar a população\’\’ (We have to indoctrinate the public);
4. All above answers at once. Wishful thinking that by indoctrinating the people they could wise up at last.
Comment by Mr.Rocks — 3/19/2007 @ 3:46 pm
Beleza ;-)
Comment by ana — 3/19/2007 @ 4:50 pm
[…] “[Empowerment]: The verb is transitive: someone gives power to another, or encourages them to take power or find power in themselves. It’s used among those who want to help others identified as oppressed. In Latin America, in educación popular, one of the great cradles of this kind of concept, the word itself didn’t exist until it was translated back from English. To many people, if they know it at all, the word empoderamiento sounds strange. It’s an NGO word, used by either volunteer or paid educators who view themselves as helpers of others or fighters for social justice, and is understood to represent the currently ‘politically correct’ way of thinking about ‘third world’, subaltern or marginalised people. But it remains a transitive verb, which places emphasis on the helper and her vision of her capacity to help, encourage and show the way. These good intentions, held also by 19th-century European missionaries, we know from experience do not ensure non-exploitation.” […]
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