A Cosmopolitan Critic: Silviano Santiago and Postcolonial Literature

This project aims to explore the concept of cosmopolitanism in the critical work of Silviano Santiago (1936-), an essayist, novelist, critic, and poet who is recognized as a cosmopolitan intellectual within Brazilian social thought. Our goal is to contribute to this discussion by proposing an intersection between Santiago's notion of cosmopolitanism and the debates advanced by authors from the Global South, especially those linked to postcolonial studies.

Intellectuals from the Global South have increasingly questioned the legitimacy of the term “cosmopolitanism” as it was previously understood within a Eurocentric framework. This term is now being re-examined through the lens of postcolonial studies, with scholars striving to reshape it away from its traditional Eurocentric interpretations. Silviano Santiago is one of the key figures revisiting and reinterpreting this concept, offering a new perspective on it. In his influential essay L'entre-lieu du discours latino-américain (1971), Santiago develops the idea that Latin American artists produce their work through a process of transgression against the Eurocentric model. He suggests that these artists operate from an in-between space—situated between the cultural center and the periphery—existing in a form of clandestine refuge. This perspective aligns with Kwame Anthony Appiah's ideas, and Santiago engages with Appiah’s re-interpretation of cosmopolitanism from a postcolonial perspective in his work “Ethics and Cultural Diversity,” previously titled “Cosmopolitanism and Cultural Diversity.”

Through the analysis of Santiago’s production, this project seeks to reinterpret cosmopolitanism based on his body of work, engaging with other authors from the Global South involved in postcolonial studies. We argue that Santiago’s writings reflect an internationalist view of Latin American cultural, political, and social production, emphasizing the relationship between peripheral and hegemonic cultural centers. Additionally, we explore the concept of “cosmopolitanism” in contrast to “globalization,” identifying both the potential and limitations inherent in each approach.