Dr Archie Davies awarded prestigious British Academy funding to illuminate the world of 'Quilombo' through translation and documentary film

Gorivero, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The  ODA International Interdisciplinary Research Projects programme aims to foster international collaborations among early career researchers from various countries, including Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, and more, to undertake interdisciplinary research projects with global significance.

Worlding Quilombo

Quilombo as a practice of freedom, and as a body of thought, has been central to Black Brazilian politics and identity for over a hundred years, yet the idea and its history has been largely overlooked in English-speaking academic circles.

Titled ‘Worlding Quilombo’, Dr Davies's project, in collaboration with Diego de Matos Gondim, Federal University of Fluminense, Brazil, sheds light on the creative, political, and intellectual practices of nearly 2000 'remnant quilombos' in Brazil. These communities are the surviving descendants of communities formed by escaped enslaved people. Despite their historical and ecological significance, quilombos face existential threats including dispossession, violence, and economic marginalisation, with fewer than 10% having received the land titles they are guaranteed by the Brazilian constitution.

By working with contemporary quilombo intellectuals, leaders, and communities, ‘Worlding Quilombo’ explores quilombo as both an idea and a lived reality of freedom. Through the mediums of translation and documentary film, the project aims to bring quilombo to a global audience, understanding quilombo as a worldly and contemporary way of living, from which much can be learnt. By examining quilombo as a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing geographical places, socio-ecological formations, and intellectual traditions, the project promises to offer invaluable insights into the complex dynamics of race, racism, and freedom in Brazil and beyond.

Dr Archie Davies, Lecturer in Geography and Fellow of the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences said: "In spite of the rich and thriving world of analysing the history and practice of freedom in English, the philosophy, politics, and practice of quilombo remains drastically under-recognised outside Brazil. By collaborating with Dr Gondim, a wonderful scholar and film-maker with over a decade of ethnographic experience working with quilombo communities, this project will translate the thought and practice of contemporary quilombolas, and put their ideas into conversation with transatlantic discourses.”

Dr Diego de Matos Gondim, Federal University of Fluminense, said: “Beyond the many things that could be said about it, quilombo is, fundamentally, a practice. Quilombo is a constant exercise of freedom, and a constant re-invention of freedom. At every point in history, quilombo has told us: ‘It is possible to create other modes of being, inhabiting, and existing’. This project will forge a compendium of these existential practices, which will help us to understand, and perhaps to enact, other ways of living.”

This pioneering project aligns with the British Academy's commitment to supporting research that addresses pressing global challenges and promotes cross-cultural exchange and collaboration. Through Dr Archie Davies and Dr Diego de Matos Gondim's efforts, the English-speaking world will have a chance to gain a newfound appreciation for the enduring legacy and significance of quilombo in the pursuit of quotidian, existential, and political freedom.