In between March 2022 and July 2024, the research entitled ”Technological Society: nature, modernity and the 2020s – irrigations through the diverse contemporary visual art” (Original in Brazilian Portuguese; Sociedade tecnológica : natureza, modernidade e os anos de 2020 – irrigações através da diversa arte visual contemporânea brasileira) was developed under the supervision of the Professor Dr. Rafael de Brito Dias, on the interdisciplinary master program of applied and social sciences of the University Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP, FCA, Limeira, Brazil).
It took me some time, almost half a year, to be talking about the dissertation. It was a long, very visceral process. Very ambitious research turns out to be 312-pages in a master’s degree, with some other articles and essays that go from a theory (technological ecosystems) until real horrible climate news and democratic issues in Brazil during those years: floods, political rights being in danger for us (LGBT+ community), digital movements, new energy resources, the problem with plastic and consumerism, the importance of DIY, the art market and social injustice towards art history, lots of data and lots of topics converging into the ”everybody already knows” global scenario: wars won’t lead us anywhere, totalitarianism won’t lead us anywhere, speciesism is a form of exploration of a very traditional old system in the still strong ground of modernity, and art is a powerful way of engaging communities together against certain absurds of the carboniferous era. The day of the dissertation presentation, my supervisor said, ” You know, I didn’t think you would do it, but turns out you did (…) the work is like a painting that starts in a way you have no idea how this will turn out, what figure this will make”.
It is not easy to face the quality and quantity of contemporary issues. All social scientists and activists know that: they weigh a lot, depending on your relationship with the topic. But it is brilliant how we can create new mixed methods and sometimes use ethnography to set ourselves in a dominant ground of rationalism and colonialism. I would like to let you write here that I am most thankful for my supervisor, my friends (from the department and outside), and everyone who was there with me during the dense times of such research.
After all, with all its questions without answers or, with conclusions that I might not even agree with myself in the future (or the near future), I am very relieved of being able to give a grain of sand of contribution to this vast beach of knowledge of us, ”people in the early XXI century”, with what came Before us and what will come After us. I couldn’t be more grateful for the support I had. And, a certain bravery that I wish to with within myself while the years go by. It is not about the golden coin of merit, but the need to speak something profoundly upon all the injustices and unbelievable reality we have to face nowadays (in terms of social, ecological, economic, and political grounds.. culture is a handy tool to resilience). For the resilience of this research, there is the ”Organic Manifesto” in it, also something that was suggested by the evaluation committee of the work, actually, not something I planned from the beginning.
People who evaluated this work said it should become a book at some point. I have no idea how to do it organically, if I should sit and write a second version or if I should wait for some publishing interest in this scientific material, then I will have to transform it into a more digestible work. I am open to ideas. Moreover, the work is in Brazilian Portuguese, and I would like to say that any person interested in translating this research is very welcome.
The original material is available at: Terminal RI – Sophia Biblioteca Web
Link to the master program this research was part of: https://www2.fca.unicamp.br/portal/pt-br/posgrad/posgrad-programas/posgrad-cursos-ichsa.html
Other articles can be found at: https://unicamp.academia.edu/VannieGama
There would be no better place to conduct it. And now, I will keep these sociotechnical imaginary tools to another frame and depth of research during the PhD program, also an interdisciplinary one, since it is the place where we can integrate and question even further than when we’re part of single-discipline programs, in my opinion. Moreover, I would like to thank UNICAMP / Capes for the scholarship that kept me focused on my studies during 2023/2024, as well as the opportunity of a professorship for the bachelor students in the disciplines of Technology, Society and Contemporary world in both these years.
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Versão Livro na Dialética
Em 2025, como sugestão da banca, a dissertação de mestrado ”Sociedade Tecnológica: Natureza, Modernidade e os Anos de 2020 – Irrigações através da diversa arte visual contemporânea brasileira ” foi publicado em versão livro e-book e livro físico, pela editora de livros acadêmicos, a editora Dialética. Para ter acesso ao livro acesse:
Infelizmente, por ser a primeira edição e o miolo ter de ser colorido por conta das imagens, o preço da capa, como podem ver, não é muito acessível neste primeiro ano da obra. Mas, como o primeiro livro, ”O Cultivar das Imagens” de 2022 foi completamente open source, acredito, que podem me desculpar por essa edição um pouco mais cara e, devo lembrar, que o material na versão integral da dissertação, sempre será de acesso livre através dos links da Biblioteca Sophia, da UNICAMP. A versão livro é uma versão com algumas alterações, além de ser uma materialização de um texto aos moldes de uma dissertação, e então, não diagramado para o grande público como esta, pensada para ser mais confortável em termos de experiência de leitura e imagem. Agradeço à Editora Dialética por ser a primeira casa desse longo trabalho. Essa versão livro também está disponível apenas no Brasil. Inclusive, falando em ”O Cultivar das Imagens”, vocês vão perceber que em ”Sociedade Tecnológica”, as temáticas ecológicas, sociais, artísticas e políticas (geopolíticas e estruturais) são novamente um foco da obra, porém, de uma óptica de pesquisa científica, como um trabalho extenso acadêmico realizado em dois anos e meio. Recomendo a leitura do ”O Cultivar” como um ”estopim literário anárquico” para uma obra acadêmica mais rigorosa e madura três anos depois, que seria o ”Sociedade Tecnológica”.
Ótima leitura, pessoas leitoras!
