Paper Short Abstract:

The goal of this presentation is to explore a change of anthropology's focus from anthropos to aé, that is, from the Greek "man" to the Brazilian Tupi "other." Speculative and serendipitous, the goal is to explore possibilities for a different anthropology: one of difference, and not of similarity.

Paper Abstract:

The objective of this presentation is to delve into the concept of anthropology as the study of "man." In aligning with the notion of anthropology as the "science of man," we will explore imagery spanning from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries, asserting the imperative – which we believe is already underway – for a paradigm shift within the discipline. This shift proposes a reevaluation of anthropology not merely as a science focused on the commonality of humankind but as a study rooted in diversity. The title signifies a departure from the traditional Greek-scientific terminology to embrace a Tupi perspective, where "Aé" represents the "other." Through this linguistic play, we highlight the necessity of reshaping the grammar and vernacular of our discipline. This presentation, characterized by its speculative and essayistic nature, aims to navigate possibilities, provoke inquiries, and redefine the practice of anthropology through serendipity, free-associations, and, most importantly, self-critique.

To fortify our argument, drawing on Claude Lévi-Strauss's proposition that ethnology originated in the sixteenth-century French explorations to Brazil, we will juxtapose images from both the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. This comparative approach seeks to articulate the dynamic interplay between the same and the different, Man and Other, Anthropos and Aé.