It was 3 November 2018. Based on a PDSE-CAPES1 grant and the previous experience of my advisor from my Brazilian institution (USP) in her postdoctoral studies at CES Coimbra with Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos, a new academic stage presented itself to me. Little did I know, on that day, that I would embark on one of the best years of my life.
I knew, of course, of the high prestige of both the research centre that awaited me and the professor who would supervise my doctorate, Professor Boaventura de Sousa Santos. From the time of my master's degree I had been in contact with his works, which had already marked my academic training. But it was only after arriving on the other side of the ocean, in loco, that I really experienced what it was like to be part of such a high-level centre and to have my research subject supervised by this intellectual, the owner of an absolutely impressive academic body of work.
I begin by recounting my experience at CES-Coimbra and then go on to talk about the supervision I received from Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos and the teacher-student relationship I experienced.
Experience at CES-Coimbra
I arrived at the ESC exactly a few days before my presentation at the 40th anniversary congress of the institution, an event of exceptional quality, unique organisation and expressive audience, coming from different parts of the world. All the lectures were simultaneously translated. In fact, there were many people interested in the work of the institution. I started to get an idea of the real dimension and international importance of the research centre that was in the making. They were even bigger than I had imagined before I arrived in Portugal. It is a centre that revolutionised the social sciences on the basis of innovative theories, and this with a lot of hard work. But concentrate on what matters at the moment.
It is no coincidence that many of my colleagues and friends from outside the ESC (e.g. linked to other faculties of the Univ. of Coimbra) chose this research centre, in particular its North-South Library, as a place to work. The welcoming, open, inclusive and deeply intercultural atmosphere, with very high-level employees fluent in several languages, was a striking element. I felt that many students and researchers from peripheral countries on the international economic scene, women, Afro-descendants, LGBTQ+, found there a unique environment, even psychologically, to be able to dedicate themselves 100% to the work they were doing.
I also highlight the professional, respectful, attentive, motivating and upright atmosphere of this institution and of absolutely all its teachers and staff. I have always been treated, by all staff and teachers, with a lot of respect, professionalism and individual attention when needed. It was also a place with a very positive energy, which I was very happy and motivated to be a part of every day. Having attended this prestigious Portuguese centre on a daily basis for exactly one year, I can say that I have never known it without the physical presence of several staff members, always attentive and willing to help in whatever was necessary for all the work to take place in a harmonious, holistic and healthy academic and professional environment. The students sat on the collective bench overlooking the city of Coimbra or at smaller tables, the professional researchers in more reserved environments. The highly trained staff, who made up a multilingual team, were always there, available for any situation that arose.
During my time at the Centre, I never saw any situation of abuse, harassment or any other inappropriate behaviour. On the contrary, what I have always seen are actions, attitudes, activities and, above all, a culture that aimed, precisely, at an environment of research and work free from the shackles of patriarchy or prejudice of any kind. An inclusive environment, in short, and one in which human rights were always present in its modus operandi, both in theory and in practice, in day-to-day work.
It was a place with a lot of scientific activities. There was always some seminar, symposium, academic event scheduled. There I was able to immerse myself, so to speak, on a daily basis, in the epistemologies of the South. That is why I can say that CES gave me a real, concrete and remarkable academic experience.
Not to mention the time of Prof. Boaventura's master classes. They were occasions that provided real transformations in students and researchers. And this is not only because of the already notorious and undeniable absolute quality of the classes, but also because of the way in which they were developed. The teacher always allowed, as a preliminary act, one or more students to make a summary of the previous class, making use of various forms of artistic expression, such as poetry, music, among other manifestations that allowed them to transmit to those present the contents worked on in the previous class, enabling the accompaniment of those who, eventually, had not been able to attend the previous class. Friends and colleagues from other departments and faculties of the University of Coimbra also attended these classes, always very interested.
After the master classes, I witness that the dinners that took place in a traditional restaurant in the city of Coimbra - all of which I participated in during my one-year doctoral internship - were excellent and very healthy in many ways. I highlight a few of them:
i) Extremely healthy opportunity for coexistence and integration between academic colleagues and teachers. The other colleagues always wanted this type of event to happen, especially with the participation of teachers. It is a healthy method that allows researchers to feel part of the group of older and more experienced researchers, allowing dialogues between researchers. Everything was always desired and celebrated with joy and respect when it happened. Always in a healthy way. Add to this the fact that it is not hard to imagine that 99.9% of foreign students and researchers, as was my case, go alone to the country of destination and obviously arrive in a new academic institution, where most of the time they do not know a single person (either student or professor in a face-to-face way). Getting to know them in person, and not only through their works or a computer screen, is an essential element. The working environment alone does not give the same result, as everyone is 100% focused on research. It was from these dinners and socialising opportunities outside the institutional working environment of the ESC that I had the opportunity to meet colleagues working on research topics very similar to my own, and from this point the academic dialogue began.
ii) these dinners in Coimbra, after the master classes, were also opportunities in which students, researchers and even professors used to make, after dinner, some artistic presentation related to the subjects of the classes, such as poetry recitation, music, small performances. Of course, all this made students and researchers enthusiastic to learn more and more about the topics that were brought to life in these artistic expressions.
iii) Teachers left really early from the above-mentioned dinners (following the order of the dinner, seeing some artistic manifestation of some pupils, going home), and those who sometimes stayed late in the restaurant were only the pupils, of their own free will. I have never witnessed any attitude, unwritten rule, warning or suggestion of compulsory attendance at the dinners. On the contrary, it was the students and researchers (at least the majority) who, already before the classes, were anxious to know whether it would happen or not, such was the desire to participate. Others simply did not participate, and obviously were not even questioned about it. The restaurant (wonderful by the way) was one of the most traditional in the city of Coimbra, very familiar, with local food, and always frequented by people who were not from the CES group. The owner is a former PhD student at the University of Coimbra who took her studies with hard work, dedication and care along with her husband in the establishment. They were always present supervising all the organisation of these events. Everything favoured an atmosphere that breathed the most healthy and traditional academic conviviality (a striking element in the Portuguese academic culture, practised by all the other students and professors of other departments/faculties of the Univ. of Coimbra).
As I write these paragraphs, and recall the beautiful memories that remain with me and that were part of my academic career, I am troubled to think what a loss it will be to so many academics and individuals if these dinners no longer take place. May the Universe find a way not to allow this to happen.
I miss Coimbra... Only those who know this phrase will understand the inexplicable. What words (whether in books or in classes) can never express accurately, and that only experience and coexistence (provided they are marked by healthy integration activities such as the one reported above) provide. Here, it is enough to say that famous phrase about the city: Coimbra is the city that was born in you. A city without age, here dreams are born. I believe that these encounters contributed to the realisation of many of them.
I will now turn to the account of my specific academic experience with Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos.
Experience during the scientific supervision received from Prof. Boaventura de Sousa Santos, during my sandwich PhD.
It is a well-known fact that Prof. Boaventura is a human being with very high intellectual capacities. And an impressive dedication to academic life, which is out of the rule. As is well known, not all people have a whole life devoted to reading, research, writing and teaching. Because of this, he has a wisdom and an ability to analyse and reflect on concrete and abstract issues in a systemic way, to make insightful connections, which allows him to anticipate trends that will occur in the future.
It is this body of knowledge and experience that makes you a sought-after person to guide and supervise academic work. Any work that passes before your eyes will have unique insights, unique qualities. Obviously I already imagined that his agenda would be really contested and full of commitments. But the structure of the CES, Prof. Boaventura and the employees working with him were always present in loco in the institution, ready to help in the scheduling of supervisory meetings. As for Prof. Boaventura, only he was not at the CES when he was at the other university with which he has a link, in the United States, or when he was on a work trip. Invitations to give talks in different parts of the world were part of his routine. But he always returned to his office at CES and from there he worked and attended to the students.
As I was always present at the ESC, without pandemic, I was able to organise with Prof. Boaventura's secretary, the esteemed Ms. Lassalete Paiva, all the meetings I needed. Therefore, through the means made available by the ESC, such as the daily physical presence of its secretary in the institution, and also her availability through e-mails, I was able to schedule and obtain scientific supervision meetings of exceptional quality with the professor.
The professor's contributions, with the meetings held at the ESC, made a substantial contribution to the development of my research. This is because they were contributions from a professor who, in addition to reading the research project diligently, also read every line of written material sent before each meeting. I entered his office and he already knew what my wishes, doubts, questions were. What I had read since the previous meeting, what had evolved and what my new ideas were. All this allowed for a non-standardised, but extremely individualised, specialised and exclusive attention to my topic and research project.
The professor's reading suggestions fitted my thesis like a glove, and involved several authors (including authors from outside the ESC, outside the epistemologies of the South or Portugal). I would like to highlight, by the way, an exceptional recommendation by Prof. Boaventura during the meetings, which contributed greatly to my research: the reading of a work organised by Arturo Escobar, Alberto Acosta, Ariel Salleh, Ashish Kothari and Federico Demaria, entitled Pluriverso: un diccionario del pos-desarrollo (Pluriverse: a dictionary of post-development).
The deep and suggestive debates I had with Prof. Boaventura, during these fruitful meetings held at CES-Coimbra, are translated into a support without which my thesis would not have the quality it has today. A thesis that was deeply praised by all the members of the jury at the time of the defence. With five professors discussing from different countries, it was the moment when I saw what it is like to have every drop of sweat, effort and renunciation publicly recognised and praised. Eternal gratitude, Prof. Boaventura! Inspiration for so many Brazilians (and not only them) who dream of a better future for this planet. How fortunate I am to have had the privilege and honour of absorbing a little, in loco, so much wisdom. I hope to give back to society what I learned from you.
I emphasise, and also give my personal testimony, about the obviously always 100% professional, respectful and integral atmosphere of the relationship between a teacher and a supervised scholarship student that I had with Prof. Boaventura.
Another point I would like to make concerns the issue of dynamics, demand and how to comment on the results of the survey. I have always been aware of the - obvious - fact that anyone entering a doctorate (the highest academic degree awarded by universities) must be aware that it is an ambition that requires renunciations and a lot of time for reading, research, reflections and one's own innovative conclusions. Moreover, I have always been aware that demanding teachers are the ones who make us evolve and reach our full potential as academics. Demand is teaching and without it there are no conditions for progress. And teachers only demand those who know they can do it. At the beginning of my experience at CES, Prof. Boaventura commented on occasion that I had not yet read, at that time, certain works that I thought I should read, and at no time (evidently) did I interpret the phrase to mean that he was somehow being too demanding, or that he did not like the results of my research. I simply gathered the recommended papers and "checked in" to the 24-hour study room at the Academic Association of the University of Coimbra, reading everything the professor had instructed me to read. All this while my friends called me to go out, to walk in the square, to walk quietly, in short, to all the things that doctoral students know they have to give up (not all of them) but at some stages of their doctoral careers. I hope that this will never change in academia, so that doctors will leave their doctorates truly worthy of the titles they carry, becoming teachers and/or researchers who will shape the future of many young people and even influence concrete outcomes for society and the environment. The responsibility is, yes, very great.
At the next meeting, what did I hear after the teacher read the written material I sent him before the meeting? I remember to this day: "Marina, I saw that you read, interpreted and absorbed the books very well, these questions you are asking me are very interesting, the relationship you made between question x and question y is excellent, I agree with it", and so on, and from there an unprecedented, original, extremely enriching debate arose. This is called the evolution of a doctoral student in his or her academic career. For a professor, simple praise is not the right way to go, neither for the professor nor for the student. If you want the evolution of your student and worry about the future of so many others who will take classes with him or find the results of his research.
Thank you, Prof. Boaventura, for always making me give my best and, above all, for trusting in my capacity and potential for evolution and growth in academia. Today (and even since then) I am very grateful for everything and I am already reaping the fruits of so much reading, abdication and dedication.
May he continue to reflect his example of transforming knowledge for the benefit of society. His work has already changed and continues to change the world. An eternal and unwavering feat. My academic wish, now as a doctor, and my personal wish as a human being, is that the whole situation you now face will be reversed. So that, together with your team, you can continue to revolutionise the social sciences, continuing the academic battle for more equitable levels of cognitive justice, on both sides of the abyssal line. With advisors who can continue, today and in the future, through a purposeful journey, this entire legacy. We, newcomers to this journey, need for our own academic lives to see the continuation of their work, labour, classes and research.
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