Anthropophagy as a decolonial method

Abstract

In this work, we present the foundations of anthropophagic thought, defending it as a fruitful methodological device in the service of constructing a decolonial method. In item 1, we describe the primitivist disposition (later anti-colonial) of the European avant-gardes, fundamentally surrealism, and the relationship of Brazilian modernism with these avant-gardes. In item 2, based on the analysis of the manifestos 'Pau-Brasil' and 'Antropófago', as well as the critical fortune regarding the theoretical texts of Oswald de Andrade, we outline a brief history of the anthropophagic movement and present how the thought derived from it can serve in the construction of a decolonial method. Finally, in item 3, we propose the use of this methodology as an ecocritical device suitable for reflecting on the current environmental crisis. We believe that the anthropophagic-decolonial method, when applied to environmental criticism, offers a powerful approach to rethink humanity's relationship with the environment. By combining the cultural absorption and transformation of anthropophagy with the structural critique of decolonial thought, this method suggests alternatives to confront the ecological crisis that go beyond conventional technological solutions, promoting a reconciliation between modernity and tradition, and between humanity and nature.