OPEN LETTER FROM UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AND LITERARY CRITICS
The selection criteria for a single author profile does not meet the inclusion requirements
The University Foundation for the Entrance Exam (FUVEST), which organizes the entrance exam at the University of São Paulo (USP), recently released the list of books valid from 2026 to 2028, favoring exclusively female authors. In 2029, three works by men will replace three previous ones, while the others will remain the same. Of a total of nine authors, three are black (one Brazilian, one Angolan and one Mozambican) and six are white (one of them Portuguese).
Without a doubt, a broad discussion about the canon and the current dispute over it is essential. But the selection criteria for a single author profile is not consistent with inclusion either, given the exclusion of black writers, LGBTQIAPN+ representation and that of indigenous peoples. In another aspect, the literate production of colonial Brazil disappeared from the list of works, in a probable discard of what is believed to be “old”.
Furthermore, the adoption of a single criterion for choosing books disregards the specificity of literature, with the risk of corroborating the new utilitarian times of devaluation of artistic languages and, above all, the focus on the figure of the author or on the layers more superficial aspects of the text.
The transfer of a contemporary principle to the selection of works from different styles and periods also runs the risk of demanding from the authors an objective that they did not propose in their historical moment or, if so, they certainly did so in a way that is different from current values. But the work of art tends to say more than it intends, just as ways of reading vary according to the times and different groups of readers. In this sense, FUVEST determines a single form of production and reception, assuming that literature is a document or illustration of current theories.
The seriousness of Machado de Assis's removal from the FUVEST book list speaks for itself. In the context of hygienist medicine that disseminated the “instinct” of motherhood and domesticated female actions with the function of guaranteeing the well-being of the bourgeois family, Machado de Assis subjected this “instinct” to ridicule, inventing women as a subjectivity marked by desire and non-monogamous sexuality. With Capitu, Machado de Assis formalizes the invisibility of the woman who wanted to be the master of her destiny. The gallery of Machado female characters makes you think.
There are other works in which literary quality is decisive for understanding the social condition of gender, such as Industrial park, from Pagu; S. Bernardo, by Graciliano Ramos; The Imaginary, by Adalgiza Nery; Spilled milk, by Chico Buarque; It is Symphony in White, by Adriana Lisboa.
Obviously, it is not expected that all these aspects would be considered. It is possible, however, a better combination between these factors that would privilege the singularity of fiction in all of the chosen works and escape the imposition of a single assumption.
The loss of literature's place on the list also occurs in the choice of Humanitarian Booklets, by Nísia Floresta, an important title, but not intended to be fiction. He discusses the female condition in different times and the need for formal education for women.
Given this particular choice, does FUVEST intend to select titles that are not just literary from now on? The decision to replace the already traditional entrance exam lists with works from other discursive genres will have an impact on the educational field. Poetry, prose fiction, criticism, literary theory and comparative literary studies will be transformed into secondary knowledge, with the risk of their gradual disappearance from the education system.
In the short term, skills that the study of literature provides are lost: the inseparability between writing and interpretation; the promotion of citizenship – aesthetic enjoyment, the critical ability to read the world and the sense of otherness. According to a study by the Brazilian Association of Comparative Literature (“Letter to ABRALIC”, 2023), the growing discredit of literary knowledge in official documents already leads, among other problems, to the “de-intellectualization” of students and teachers.
We recognize the autonomy of FUVEST, but we do not dispense with the assumption of dissent regarding intellectual issues. The public University is responsible for debating, listening and valuing the knowledge it produces.
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Adriana Iozzi Klein – Italian Literature – USP
Adriane da Silva Duarte – Greek Language and Literature – USP
Alcides Villaça – Brazilian Literature – USP
Alexandre Pilati – Brazilian Literature – UnB
Ana Beatriz Demarche Barel – Portuguese Language Literatures – UEG
Ana Laura dos Reis Côrrea – Portuguese Literature – UnB
Ana Luiza Martins – CONDEPHAAT
Ana Paula Pacheco – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Anco Márcio V. Tenório – Letters – UFPE
André Luis Rodrigues – Brazilian Literature – USP
André Medina Carone – Philosophy – Unifesp
Antonio Dimas – Brazilian Literature – USP
Ariovaldo José Vidal – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Arlenice de Almeida Silva – Philosophy – UNIFESP
Augusto Massi – Brazilian Literature – USP
Betina Bischof – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Carlos A. Ferreira Martins – Institute of Architecture and Urbanism – USP- São Carlos
Carlos Cortez Minchillo – Spanish and Portuguese – Dartmouth College/USA
Carlos Vogt – Linguistics – Unicamp
Celso Frederico – Sociology/ ECA – USP
Cilaine Alves Cunha – Brazilian Literature – USP
Cilza Bignotto – Lyrics – UFSCar
Claudia Maria de Vasconcellos – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Davi Arrigucci Jr. – Literary Theory – USP
Deane Costa – Literary Theory – UnB
Dóris Natái Cavallari – Italian Literature – USP
Eduardo Brandão – Philosophy – USP
Edvaldo Aparecido Bergamo – Portuguese Literature – UnB
Eliane Robert Moraes – Brazilian Literature – USP
Enid Yatsouda – IEL – Unicamp
Erwin Torralbo Gimenez – Brazilian Literature – USP
Ettore Finazzi-Agrò – Brazilian and Portuguese Literature – University of Rome
Fabio Cesar Alves – Brazilian Literature – USP
Fabio de Souza Andrade – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Fernando Paixão – Literature – IEB/USP
Francisco Foot Hardmann – IEL – Unicamp
Gilberto Pinheiro Passos – French Literature – USP
Giuliana Ragusa – Greek Language and Literature – USP
Horácio Costa – Portuguese Literature – USP
Ida Alves – Portuguese Literature – UFF
Ivan Marques – Brazilian Literature – USP
Ivone Daré Rabello – Literary Theory and Brazilian Literature – USP
Jacqueline Penjon – Lyrics – Sorbonne/France
Jean Pierre Chauvin – Brazilian Culture and Literature – USP
Jefferson Agostini Mello – Brazilian Literature – USP
João Adolfo Hansen – Brazilian Literature – USP
João Roberto Gomes de Faria – Brazilian Literature – USP
Joelma Santana Siqueira – Brazilian Literature – UFV
John Gledson – Brazilian Studies – University of Liverpool/ UK
Jorge de Almeida – Literary theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Jorge Schwartz – Spanish – USP
José Sueli Magalhães – Linguistic Studies – UFU
Katia Muricy – Philosophy – PUC/RJ
Laura Janina Hosiasson – Spanish – USP
Leandro Saraiva – Arts and Communication – UFSCar
Leon Kossovitch – Philosophy – USP
Leopoldo Bernucci – Spanish-American Literature – UC-Davis/USA
Leyla Perrone Moisés – French Literature – USP
Lincoln Secco – History – USP
Luís Bueno – Brazilian Literature – UFPR
Luiz Costa Lima – Literary Theory – PUC/RJ
Luiz Renato Martins – Visual Arts – USP
Luiz Roncari – Brazilian Literature – USP
Leandro Pasini – Brazilian Literature – UNIFESP
Mamede Mustafá Jarouche – Arabic Literature – USP
Marcelo Ferraz de Paula – Lyrics – UFG
Marcelo Pen – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Márcia de Arruda Franco – Portuguese Literature – USP
Marcos Flamínio – Brazilian Literature – USP
Marcus Mazzari – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Margareth Santos – Spanish Literature – USP
Maria Aparecida Junqueira – Letters – PUC/SP
Maria Augusta Costa – Spanish – Lyrics
Maria Augusta Fonseca – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Maria Célia Leonel – Lyrics – UNESP/ Araraquara
Maria da Glória Bordini – Letters – UFRGS
Maria Eugênia Boaventura – IEL – Unicamp
Maria Inês Batista Campos Noel Ribeiro – Philology and Portuguese Language – USP
Maria Lúcia de Barros Camargo – Literary Theory – UFSC
Marilena Chauí – Philosophy – USP
Marilene Weinhardt – Lyrics – UFPR
Marisa Lajolo – IEL – Unicamp
Marta Kawano – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Maurício Santana Dias – Italian Literature – USP
Mayra Laudanna – Visual Arts – USP
Mayra Moreyra Carvalho – Portuguese and Brazilian Literature – UEMG
Milena Martins – Lyrics – UFPR
Milton M. Azevedo – Spanish and Portuguese – UC-Berkeley/USA
Mirella Márcia Longo Vieira Lima – Literary Theory – UFBA
Mirhiane Mendes de Abreu – Brazilian Literature – UNIFESP
Murilo Marcondes de Moura – Brazilian Literature – USP
Olgária Matos – Philosophy – USP
Paola Poma – Portuguese Literature – USP
Paula da Cunha Corrêa – Greek Language and Literature – USP
Paulo Alberto da Silva Sales – Literary Theory – UEG
Paulo Eduardo Arantes – Philosophy – USP
Paulo Elias Allane Franchetti – IEL – Unicamp
Priscila Loyde Gomes Figueiredo – Brazilian Literature – USP
Priscila Rossinetti Rufinoni – Philosophy – UnB
Rafael Campos Quevedo – Lyrics – UFMA
Raul Antelo – Literary Theory – UFSC
Renato Janine Ribeiro – Philosophy – USP
Ricardo Fabrini – Philosophy – USP
Ricardo Musse – Sociology – USP
Ricardo Kobayaski – professor and coordinator of the website A Terra é Redonda
Roberta Barni – Italian Literature – USP
Roberto Schwarz – IEL – Unicamp
Rodolfo A. Franconi – Spanish and Portuguese – Dartmouth College - USA
Rogério Max Canedo – Lyrics – UFG
Salete de Almeida Cara – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Sandra Guardini Teixeira Vasconcelos – English Literature – USP
Sárka Grauová – Romanesque Studies – Carolina University/ CZ
Simone Rossinetti Rufinoni – Brazilian Literature – USP
Solange Fiuza Cardoso Yokozawa – Lyrics – UFG
Sylvia Moretzsohn – Social Communication – IACS/UFF
Tânia de Luca – History – Unesp/Assis
Telê Ancona Lopez – IEB – USP
Tércio Loureiro Redondo – German Literature – USP
Teresa Cristófani Barreto – Spanish – USP
Thiago Mio Salla – ECA – USP
Vagner Camilo – Brazilian Literature – USP
Valentim Facioli – Brazilian Literature – USP
Valéria Gil Condé – Romance Philology – USP
Viviana Bosi – Literary Theory and Comparative Literature – USP
Yudith Rosenbaum – Brazilian Literature – USP
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