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The Genesis of Aesthetic Sensitivity in Carolina de Jesus: Challenges for Educators

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Abstract

Brazilian writer Carolina Maria de Jesus (1914–1977) was born in a rural community and spent most of her life in a slum. Despite this, her literary work achieved remarkable editorial success, having its value recognized by critics and academic circles. This paper analyzes Carolina Maria de Jesus’s autobiographical narratives in the light of John Dewey’s aesthetic theory, with the purpose of investigating the factors responsible for the development of her aesthetic sensitivity – intellectual and emotional dispositions favorable to involvement with artistic practices. The results suggest that Carolina Maria de Jesus’s literary skills, which express not only individual but also collective yearnings, resulted from the incentive she received to think about things that do not exist and from her relationship with people who favored the formation of a personality open to varied experiences. Such results are presented as requirements for a democratic and humanist education that aims at the flowering of aesthetic sensitivity and encourages educators and students to believe in their creative potential.

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Notes

  1. On Dewey’s aesthetic theory, see, in addition to Art as Experience (Dewey 2010), Eldridge (2010) and Andrade and Cunha (2016a).

  2. Brazilian Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (1849–1923) worked as a jurist, lawyer, politician, diplomat, philologist, journalist, translator and speaker.

  3. Retrieved from https://www.letras.mus.br/caetano-veloso/201526/. Translation: (…) who are you? That didn’t feel Henri Salvador’s swing/that didn’t follow Olodum swinging Pelô/ And that didn’t laugh with Andy Warhol’s laughter/ (…)/Who has not prayed Dona Canô’s novena/Who didn’t follow the beggar Joãozinho Beija-Flor.

  4. On Dewey’s notion of democracy, in addition to Democracy and Education (Dewey 1959), see Garrison (2008).

  5. In Portuguese, “farmácia”, in the past, was written “pharmacia”.

  6. Book written by Bernardo Guimarães. It is about a white slave, of noble character, victim of a cruel master.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Rua Rafael Guedes Chociai, 625, Naviraí-MS, 79950-000, Brazil

    Erika Natacha Fernandes de Andrade

  2. Department of Education, Information and Communication, University of São Paulo, Rua Breno Vieira de Souza, 377, São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto-SP, 14090-620, Brazil

    Marcus Vinicius da Cunha

  3. Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Avenida Rio Branco, 1270 - Universitário, Campo Grande, Corumbá́-MS, 79304-902, Brazil

    Tatiana Cristina Santana Viruez

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  1. Erika Natacha Fernandes de Andrade
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Correspondence to Erika Natacha Fernandes de Andrade.

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de Andrade, E.N.F., da Cunha, M.V. & Santana Viruez, T.C. The Genesis of Aesthetic Sensitivity in Carolina de Jesus: Challenges for Educators. Stud Philos Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-024-09935-6

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