TONIGHT: Boaventura de Sousa Santos on "Why Epistemologies of the South"

[Eric Worby]

"WHY EPISTEMOLOGIES OF THE SOUTH?"

The Reading Group on African Critical Thought in collaboration with the Wits Humanities Graduate Centre presents a lecture entiltled "Why Epistemologies of the South?" by Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos.

Prof. Santos is Professor of Sociology at the School of Economics, University of Coimbra (Portugal); a Distinguished Legal Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School; a Global Legal Scholar at the University of Warwick; and the Director of the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra.

Santos is recognized worldwide for his seminal work, which is deeply commitment to global social justice. He has combined empirical research with innovative socio-legal theory, philosophy and critique, to shed new light on a vast array of issues, from the role of law and politics in the World Social Forum, to the challenges posed to neoliberal globalization and liberal human rights raised by grassroots movements in India, the Americas and indigenous peoples around the world.

He has recently embarked upon an ambitious project called ALICE - Strange Mirrors, Unsuspected Lessons.  The project ALICE seeks to re-think and renovate socio-scientific knowledge in light of the epistemologies of the South, proposed by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The objective is to develop new theoretical and political paradigms of social transformation. (For more information to www.alice.ces.uc.pt/en/)

Date: 4 July 2012

Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm

Venue: Wits University, Southwest Engineering Building, Ground Floor, Room 10.

Enquiries: Cynthia....@wits.ac.za

Everyone welcome.