Betweener Talk: A Dialogue on Decolonizing Class, Knowledge Production, Praxis, and Justice

In this literary, co-constructed narrative, two Brazilian scholars explore the spaces “in-between”—between their own biographies, one raised privileged, the other poor; between the experience of being raised in Brazil and finding acceptance in United States universities; between their lives in the academic establishment and their studies of poverty in Latin America; between the constraints of apolitical scholarship and the need to promote social justice; between contrasting styles of researching, theorizing, and writing. Their dialogue seeks to decolonize the world of American scholarship and promote the use of research toward inclusive social justice.

In this literary, co-constructed narrative, two Brazilian scholars explore the spaces "in-between": between their own biographies, one raised privileged, the other poor; between the experience of being raised in Brazil and finding acceptance in United States universities; between their lives in the academic establishment and their studies of poverty in Latin America; between the constraints of apolitical scholarship and the need to promote social justice; between contrasting styles of researching, theorizing, and writing. Their dialogue seeks to decolonize the world of American scholarship and promote the use of research toward inclusive social justice.

Marcelo Diversi is Assistant Professor of Human Development at Washington State University Vancouver. He is author of a dozen published articles based on his studies of Latino youth in the United States and street children in Brazil.

Claudio Moreira is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A specialist in performance ethnography, cultural theory, and sport, he has half a dozen published articles. Both authors are originally from Brazil.