The Self-saying of a People: word, praxis and performativity in Paulo Freire

Abstract

This essay sought to problematize the concept of word through the performative interpretation of the concept of praxis in Paulo Freire's works Cultural Action for Freedom, Education, the Practice of Freedom, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed, given the inherent connection between reflection and action in both concepts, according to Freire. By analyzing the aporias arising from a still representationalist understanding of the word and approaching the notion of performativity, as discussed by Jacques Derrida and Judith Butler, it was possible to arrive at an understanding of the power inherent in words to initiate new situations and transform social reality, and through which a people could, with words, make themselves as a people.