The subversive rehabilitation of structuralist rationality by decolonial criticism

Abstract

This article aims to examine the theoretical premises of the decolonial critique systematized in the 1990s by the group “colonial modernity”. The hypothesis suggests that decolonial critique rehabilitated the structuralist rationality that was canonical in Western social studies throughout much of the 20th century. It was, however, a politically subversive rehabilitation, insofar as the structuralist signs were appropriated according to the agenda of historical reparation. The text is divided into three parts: first, I examine the sources of classical structuralism, with the aim of listing the main analytical signs that constitute structuralist rationality. Then, I focus on the texts written by authors who were inspired by the formulations of decolonial criticism, identifying the subversive rehabilitation of structuralist signs. Finally, as a conclusion, I discuss with the Brazilian historiography that has recently been standing out in the reception of decolonial criticism.