Conceptualizations about popular culture, the Jongo community and the entry of this knowledge into universities

Abstract

This article aims to review the terminologies and concepts that span the field of Folk Tradition Studies from the end of the 19th century to the present, considering the social, historical, and political changes that occurred during these periods. The main purpose is to reflect on how such conceptualizations end up projecting different ideological biases onto Folk Traditions and its creators, with very different implications and impacts. Subsequently, the article proposes to historically situate the Jongo, afro-brazilian tradition, offering an aesthetic-ethical-political analysis of its structure, modes of organization and functioning. Finally, the article analyzes the entry of folk and traditional knowledges into universities with positive and negative implications. Such analyzes are made based on an extensive bibliographical review in the field of Folk Cultures, Identity Studies, Performance Studies and Decolonial Studies, in conjunction with the researcher's experiences with folk traditions in original contexts of production and displacements.