A mentalidade insubmissa e o exercício da contracolonização no canto-poema de Odete Semedo

Abstract

This thesis investigates how the poems of Guinean writer Odete Semedo express and make public the political, social, and cultural conflicts of Guinea-Bissau, highlighting processes of resistance and re-existence on both subjective and collective levels. The main objective of the study is to analyze the discursive and symbolic mechanisms that reveal the formation of subjects whose mentalities are guided by decolonial and counter-colonial postures, observing how poetry can act as an instrument of confrontation against Eurocentrism, colonialism, and racism. The research focuses on the critical analysis of poems from No Fundo do Canto (2007), seeking to understand how these poetic texts configure an insubmissive poetry that thematizes and tensions the epistemic-political conditions responsible for the production and reproduction of political and cultural minorities. Methodologically, this is a critical-analytical and bibliographical study based on the interpretive reading of the main corpus, complemented by other poems pertinent to the context of production, in dialogue with theoretical and critical texts that support and deepen the proposed analysis. The theoretical framework articulates the contributions of Moema Parente Augel (2007) on Guinean literature; Roberto Pontes (2006) and Raymond Williams (1977) regarding the notions of residuality, mentality, and insubmissive poetry; and thinkers such as Aníbal Quijano (2000), Walter Mignolo (2011), and Antônio Bispo dos Santos (2023), who ground the discussion on decoloniality and counter-coloniality. It is worth emphasizing that this study contributes to broadening the debate on the role of African Portuguese-language literature in the construction of alternative epistemologies, as well as in the formulation of liberating discursive practices.