Esta pesquisa se propõe a compreender como e por que a experiência estética teatral nos territórios palestinos ocupados pode ser transformadora tanto para os artistas envolvidos quanto para os espectadores, revelando-se um meio de autonomia criativa, emancipação subjetiva e afirmação do corpo em contexto de opressão, violência e constante violação aos direitos humanos. A presente investigação toma como base o caso do grupo e centro cultural Teatro da Liberdade (Masrah Al-Hurriya, em árabe, e The Freedom Theatre, em inglês), situado no campo de refugiados de Jenin, no norte da Cisjordânia, visitado pela pesquisadora em duas ocasiões diferentes (2008 e 2016). A princípio, apresenta-se um percurso ao mesmo tempo histórico e geográfico pelos territórios palestinos a fim de compreender o impacto da dominação e das ingerências do Estado de Israel sobre a terra e a população árabe da Palestina na atualidade. Avi Shlaim, Ilan Pappé e Achille Mbembe estão entre os autores utilizados. Em seguida, examinam-se os aspectos do fazer artístico teatral nos territórios palestinos e a especificidade do Teatro da Liberdade, que foi fundado por um judeu-palestino, o ator e diretor Juliano Mer-Khamis. Textos de Judith Butler e Rustom Bharucha oferecem subsídios cruciais. Analisa-se, então, o cotidiano do Teatro da Liberdade, em especial as vivências proporcionadas por sua Escola de Teatro e pelo curso Interpretação, Criação Coletiva e Resistência Cultural, com base em entrevistas presenciais com estudantes, atores, professores e demais integrantes, realizadas durante a pesquisa de campo em 2016, que guiou-se pelos princípios da abordagem cartográfica (Passos; Kastrup; Escóssia, 2009), privilegiando o plano da experiência. Por fim, pretende-se evidenciar os elementos que fazem do teatro uma potente forma de resistência cultural e política no contexto palestino de hoje, partindo de reflexões de Ileana Diéguez sobre a \"crise dos representados\", de Jacques Rancière acerca da partilha do sensível e de Walter Benjamin nas teses de Sobre o Conceito de História (1940), entre outros. / This research aims to understand how and why the theatrical aesthetic experience in the occupied Palestinian territories can be transforming for both artists and spectators, becoming a means of creative autonomy, subjective emancipation and affirmation of the body in a context of oppression, violence and constant violation of human rights. The present investigation is based on the case of the group and cultural center The Freedom Theatre (Masrah Al-Hurriya, in Arabic, and Teatro da Liberdade, in Portuguese), located in the Jenin refugee camp, north of the West Bank, visited by the researcher in two different occasions (2008 and 2016). At first, it is presented a historical and geographical journey through the Palestinian territories in order to understand the impact of the State of Israel\'s domination and interference over the land and the Arab population of Palestine today. Avi Shlaim, Ilan Pappé and Achille Mbembe are among the authors consulted. Next, we examine the aspects of artistic and theatrical work in the Palestinian territories and the specificity of The Freedom Theatre, which was founded by a Jewish-Palestinian: the actor and director Juliano Mer-Khamis. Texts by Judith Butler and Rustom Bharucha offer crucial subsidies. The daily life at The Freedom Theatre is analyzed, especially the experiences provided by its Theatre School and the course Acting, Devising and Cultural Resistance, based on face-to-face interviews made with students, actors, teachers and other members, during the field research in 2016, which was guided by the principles of the cartographic approach (Passos; Kastrup; Escóssia, 2009), privileging the plane of experience. Finally, it is intended to highlight the elements that make theatre a potent form of cultural and political resistance in today\'s Palestinian context, starting with Ileana Diéguez\'s reflections on \"the crisis of the represented ones\", Jacques Rancière\'s thoughts about the distribution of the sensible and Walter Benjamin\' theses from On the Concept of History (1940), among others.

This thesis examines the political thought of Achille Mbembe. It deploys decolonial critical analysis to unmask traces of coloniality with regard to the African existential conditions foregrounded in the conception of the African subject, its subjection, and subjectivity. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is decolonial epistemic perspective—the epistemic intervention that serves as a lens to understand Mbembe’s work and—that is the theoretical foundation outside the Euro-North American “mainstream” canon foregrounded in coloniality. Decolonial epistemic perspective in this thesis is deployed to expose three kinds of coloniality in Mbembe’s work, namely: coloniality of power, coloniality of knowledge and coloniality of being. The thrust of this thesis is that Mbembe’s political thought is inadequate for the understanding of the African existential condition in that it does not fully take coloniality into account. In order to acknowledge the existence of coloniality through decolonial critical analysis, the political thought of Mbembe is examined in relation to modes of self-writing, power in the postcolony, the politics of violence in Africa, Frantz Fanon’s political thought, and the idea of South Africa as major themes undertaken in this thesis. Decolonial critical analysis deals with foundational questions that have relevance to the existential condition of the African subject and the manner in which such an existential crisis can be brought to an end. These foundational questions confront issues like—who is speaking or writing, from where, for whom and why? This thesis reveals that Mbembe is writing and thinking Africa from outside the problematic ontology of the African subject and, as such, Mbembe precludes any form of African subjectivity that challenges the Euro-North American canon. This then reveals that Mbembe is not critical of coloniality and this has the implications in that subjection is left on the wayside and not accounted for. Having explored the genealogy, trajectory and horisons of decolonial critical analysis to understand the political thought of Mbembe, this thesis highlights that it is essential to take a detour through the shifting of the geography of reason. Herein lies the originality of this thesis, and it is here that Africa is thought from within a standpoint of decolonial critical analysis and not Africa that is thought from the Euro-North American canon. Therefore, the shifting of the geography of reason is necessary for the authorisation of the subjectivity of the African subject in order to combat subjection. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Politics)

This thesis examines the political thought of Achille Mbembe. It deploys decolonial critical analysis to unmask traces of coloniality with regard to the African existential conditions foregrounded in the conception of the African subject, its subjection, and subjectivity. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is decolonial epistemic perspective—the epistemic intervention that serves as a lens to understand Mbembe’s work and—that is the theoretical foundation outside the Euro-North American “mainstream” canon foregrounded in coloniality. Decolonial epistemic perspective in this thesis is deployed to expose three kinds of coloniality in Mbembe’s work, namely: coloniality of power, coloniality of knowledge and coloniality of being. The thrust of this thesis is that Mbembe’s political thought is inadequate for the understanding of the African existential condition in that it does not fully take coloniality into account. In order to acknowledge the existence of coloniality through decolonial critical analysis, the political thought of Mbembe is examined in relation to modes of self-writing, power in the postcolony, the politics of violence in Africa, Frantz Fanon’s political thought, and the idea of South Africa as major themes undertaken in this thesis. Decolonial critical analysis deals with foundational questions that have relevance to the existential condition of the African subject and the manner in which such an existential crisis can be brought to an end. These foundational questions confront issues like—who is speaking or writing, from where, for whom and why? This thesis reveals that Mbembe is writing and thinking Africa from outside the problematic ontology of the African subject and, as such, Mbembe precludes any form of African subjectivity that challenges the Euro-North American canon. This then reveals that Mbembe is not critical of coloniality and this has the implications in that subjection is left on the wayside and not accounted for. Having explored the genealogy, trajectory and horisons of decolonial critical analysis to understand the political thought of Mbembe, this thesis highlights that it is essential to take a detour through the shifting of the geography of reason. Herein lies the originality of this thesis, and it is here that Africa is thought from within a standpoint of decolonial critical analysis and not Africa that is thought from the Euro-North American canon. Therefore, the shifting of the geography of reason is necessary for the authorisation of the subjectivity of the African subject in order to combat subjection. / Political Sciences / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Politics)