Por que tenho razão: branquitude, Estudos Culturais e a vontade de verdade acadêmica

Abstract

This article discusses our academic “wills to truth” (Foucault), from within the zone of influence of Stuart Hall and his “Cultural Studies and its cultural legacies”. It presents reflections on the research process in a study of whiteness in the Brazilian media and mass culture, especially popular music, and on the contexts in which papers were commissioned and findings were made public. Some re¬sults are described: conceptualizations of Brazilian whiteness, a proposal for the rediscussion of the meaning of mestiçagem, the traditional description of Brazilian racial identity, and a reflections on what can be won from the comparison, which seems almost obligatory in discussions of race relations, between Brazilian and US race relations. Finally, it analyses some papers that focus specifically on white identities in popular music and proposes a discussion of the metaphors for producing truths in communications research in Brazil.