We at the Centre for Minorities Research are delighted to share the wonderful news that Débora Rodrigues Azevedo Silva has successfully defended her doctoral thesis at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (PPGE/FaE/UFMG). Her thesis, Justiça Epistêmica: A Produção Acadêmica de Intelectuais Indígenas e Quilombolas (Epistemic Justice: The Academic Production of Indigenous and Quilombola Intellectuals), makes a significant contribution to debates around epistemic justice, decolonial thought, and the role of Indigenous and Quilombola scholars within Brazilian higher education.
Drawing on Critical Race Theory and the concept of epistemicide as articulated by Professor Sueli Carneiro, Débora develops the original concept of intelectuais territorializados (territorialised intellectuals) to analyse 15 theses and dissertations produced by Indigenous and Quilombola researchers. Through narrative interviews with four territorialised intellectuals, the research maps the challenges and possibilities of epistemic reclamation — concluding that new epistemologies are underway, producing valid, complex, and socially useful knowledge.
The defence was a joyful and culturally rich event, bringing together family, community members, and researchers in a ceremony that honoured not only academic achievement but also the communities and ancestral knowledge that sustain Débora’s work.
We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Débora and all those who accompanied her on this journey.
About Débora — Biographical Note
Português
Bisneta de Valu; neta de Conceição e Helena, Angelino e Arcênio; filha de Aparecida e Ivo; mãe do Daniel e Leonardo; formada pelos saberes das mulheres que conduzem as práticas sociais e a existência inventiva no Quilombo de Pinhões-MG; Educadora Quilombola. Doutora em Educação: Conhecimento e Inclusão Social, pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (2026), Mestre em Educação pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (2020), Graduada em Comunicação Social pela Faculdade da Cidade de Santa Luzia (2009). Integrante da equipe de docentes do Curso de Aperfeiçoamento em Educação Escolar Quilombola, FaE/UFMG. Integra o Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre Relações Étnico-raciais e Ações Afirmativas (NERA), da UFMG. Integra a equipe de pesquisadores do Programa Ações Afirmativas na UFMG. Realizou estágio de formação docente, sendo bolsista da Formação Intercultural para Educadores Indígenas — FIEI/UFMG (2022–2024). Desenvolve pesquisas sobre políticas educacionais e diversidade étnico-racial e cultural com foco na educação quilombola, raça e descolonização de processos educativos e produção de conhecimento por intelectuais indígenas e quilombolas.
ENGLISH
Great-granddaughter of Valu; granddaughter of Conceição and Helena, Angelino and Arcênio; daughter of Aparecida and Ivo; mother of Daniel and Leonardo; shaped by the knowledge of the women who sustain social practices and inventive existence in the Quilombo de Pinhões, Minas Gerais; Quilombola Educator. She holds a doctorate in Education: Knowledge and Social Inclusion from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (2026), a master’s degree in Education from UFMG (2020), and a degree in Social Communication from the Faculdade da Cidade de Santa Luzia (2009). She is a member of the teaching team of the Specialisation Course in Quilombola School Education at FaE/UFMG, and a researcher at the Centre for Ethnic-Racial Relations and Affirmative Action Studies (NERA/UFMG) and the Affirmative Action Programme at UFMG. She undertook a teaching residency as a fellow of the Intercultural Training for Indigenous Educators programme (FIEI/UFMG, 2022–2024). Her research focuses on educational policies, ethnic-racial and cultural diversity, Quilombola education, race, the decolonisation of educational processes, and knowledge production by Indigenous and Quilombola intellectuals.