Little Hermeneutists: phenomenology of health in narratives and images

Abstract

This research project proposes artistic creativity as a form of knowledge and action upon reality through the conception and realization of four illustrated books related to the transdisciplinary field of medicine and literature and the writing of a theoretical essay about them. The projected books are Severino Berinjela [Severino Eggplant] (or a poetics of healthcare); Othello, o martelo [Othello, the Hammer] (critique to the instrumentalization of art and literature); O pequeno dançarino das estrelas [The Starry Little Dancer] (a phenomenology of the body); and O fenomenal Corona [The Phenomenal Corona] (a narrative and phenomenological perspective of Sars-CoV-2 and COVID-19). These narratives will be part of a book collection entitled Pequenos Hermeneutas [Little Hermeneutists], based on a critical appreciation of both the series Pequeno Filósofo [Little Philosopher] (Martins Fontes Publisher, Brazil) and Les Petits Platons (Les Petits Platons Publisher, France) and on a study of the phenomenology of health, its embranchments, philosophy of art and language, storytelling, illustration and the issues of reception in the literature for youngsters. This research is conceived as a broadening of my 10-year work on the relations among literature, art, and healthcare as the leader of GENAM (University of São Paulo's Group of Study and Research on Literature, Narrative, and Medicine).