Postcolonial (Mock-)Epic Narratives - Reading Mário de Andrade with Jorge Luis Borges - Dissertation Abstract

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn

The dissertation analyzes contemporary Latin-American (Mock-)epic narratives through a dual approach: Borges’s theoretical perspective and a close reading of Mário de Andrade’s Macunaíma (1928). It develops a theory of the (Mock-)Epic by reviewing Borges’s essays, then applies it in a two-axis interpretation of Macunaíma: Brazilian collective psychological reality and the language that expresses it. The study frames Macunaíma as both a dialogue with medieval literary traditions and a satirical critique of early twentieth-century (neo)colonialism, while also contesting readings that claim an essential homogeneous Brazilian identity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages200

Reading Time8 h 24 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Problematization and Objectives

Chapter Summaries

The Epic as Form: Readings of Jorge Luis Borges

Borgesian Subsidies for a Theory of the Contemporaneous Epic

Order and Disorder in Contemporary Fiction

Decolonizing Brazil: Minor Heroism in Macunaíma

Introduction

A Minor Heroism: Carnivalization and Indigenism

Macunaíma, my Brother

Towards a Cosmopolitan Nationalism

Aesthetic-Political Considerations, Metatextualities and Immanence Plan

Mário de Andrade’s becoming-child in Macunaíma

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Postcolonial (Mock-)Epic Narratives: Reading Mário de Andrade with Jorge Luis Borges A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Languages and Literatures by Joao Paulo Temporao Albuquerque 2022 © Copyright by Joao Paulo Temporao Albuquerque 2022 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Postcolonial (Mock-)Epic Narratives: Reading Mário de Andrade with Jorge Luis Borges by João Paulo Temporao Albuquerque Doctor of Philosophy in Hispanic Languages and Literatures University of California, Los Angeles, 2022 Professor José Luiz Passos, Chair In my dissertation, I analyze some problems raised by contemporary Latin-American (Mock-)epic narratives, both from Jorge Luis Borges’ (theoretical) perspective and through the reading of Macunaíma (1928), from Mário de Andrade. This dissertation is divided in two parts. In the first part, I elaborate a theory of the (Mock-)Epic through a review of several Jorge Luis Borges’s essays. In view of this context, I thus outline the main aims of my research, namely: a) to analyze the critical role of the epic narratives in the contemporary world; b) to analyze the Poetics of the contemporary epic narrative, that is, to question the form and the literary devices which make an epic narrative somehow effective. In the second part, I carry out a double-sided analysis of Macunaíma. Firstly, as a reflection around two axes and respective articulation (the collective psychological Brazilian reality and the language used to express it), in order to understand what is specifically at stake in what concerns a possible epic feature found in Macunaíma marked by protest and non-conformity. As follows, Macunaíma is envisaged as: a) a dialogue with (medieval) literary traditions where the (mock-)epic discourse repeats its“original” forms and simultaneously, strays away from them; b) a literary work which satirically criticized the cultural and economical (neo)colonialism to which Brazil was (yet) subjugated in the early twentieth century, while destabilizing the rational, realistic and logical-positivist categories of colonial thought. In a second moment, in confrontation with a critical tradition which defends that Macunaíma searches for and attempts to reach a homogeneity of a Brazilian identity, in service of Mário de Andrade’s supposed nationalist program, the hypothesis for a different reading shall be considered. More specifically, the possibility that Macunaíma opens upa vision of the Brazilian reality regarding cosmopolitanism, heterogeneity and the unknown, with the concepts of desire, eroticism, variable rhythm and childishness operating a dynamic articulation which leads to the production of Alterity. The dissertation of João Paulo Temporão Albuquerque is approved. André Corrêa de Sá Efraín Kristal Jorge Marturano Wolf Kittler José Luiz Passos, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2022 Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION………………………...……………………………………………..……. 1 1.1. Problematization and Objectives…………………………….…………………….... 1 1.2. Chapter Summaries…………………………………………………………………13 2. THE EPIC AS FORM: READINGS OF JORGE LUIS BORGES…….……….……….…...17 2.1. Borgesian Subsidies for a Theory of the Contemporaneous Epic……….…….……17 2.2. Order and Disorder in Contemporary Fiction: a Sketch of the Borgesian Narratology…………………………………………………………………..…………..40 3. DECOLONIZING BRAZIL: MINOR HEROISM IN MACUNAÍMA………….…………….60 3.1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….60 3.2. A Minor Heroism: Carnivalization and Indigenism……………………….………..71 3.3. Macunaíma, my Brother…………………………………………………………….92 4. TOWARDS A COSMOPOLITAN NATIONALISM……………………………………….118 4.1. Aesthetic-Political Considerations, Metatextualities and Immanence Plan………..118 4.2. Mário de Andrade’s becoming-child in Macunaíma: an Intensive Cartography of Brazil………………………………………………………………………………

FAQs

What is the core research focus of this dissertation?

It examines contemporary Latin-American (Mock-)epic narratives using Borges’s theoretical lens and a reading of Macunaíma (1928). The work studies the epic’s critical role and the poetics that make an epic narrative effective.

How does the dissertation develop its theory of the (Mock-)Epic?

It builds the theory through a review of several Jorge Luis Borges essays, then uses the resulting framework to guide further analysis.

What alternative interpretation of Macunaíma does the dissertation propose?

It considers a reading that emphasizes cosmopolitanism, heterogeneity, and the unknown, arguing that desire, eroticism, variable rhythm, and childishness produce Alterity rather than aiming at a homogeneous Brazilian identity.

Aug 25, 2026

Uploaded by Quinn