台灣大學政治學系中國大陸暨兩岸關係教學與研究中心 「中國學的知識社群」計畫 MEMORY OF BRAZILIAN SYNOLOGY Interview Schedule 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 What follows now is the script of our interviews carried out in Brazil, seeking to gather experiences, impressions and opinions about Sinology in Brazil and its participation in this field. This structure was adapted from the oral interview script – a modality that unfortunately we could not perform at that time for health and logistical reasons, among other reasons. We seek an overview of the personal and educational trajectory; next, what led to the study of China, and from what aspect; finally, some of the academic and personal opinions about Sinology in Brazil and its future. It was not necessary to answer all the questions, but if possible, to form a scenario of the personal trajectory, academic performance and vision of Sinology . We allow for less formal language, telling personal stories and expressing opinions. There was no set size for each answer, you could use as much space as you want. Note: Professor Carlos Francisco Moura, one of the greatest Brazilian scholars in China-Brazil historical relations, wrote a memorial text for this interview, based on the questions presented. André Bueno Prof. adj. Eastern History UERJ/Brazil Coord. Project Orientalism INTERVIEW Full name and birthday Maurício Santoro Rocha Date of Birth: June 7, 1978 Family history details (including family history, spouse and family of spouse, siblings and children). I was born into a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro, the son of a doctor father and a psychologist mother. My upbringing was marked by the economic crises and instability of Brazil in the 1980s/1990s, with hyperinflation and a succession of government plans to try to solve the problem. Money was always short. My parents always encouraged me to study, saying that this was the only wealth they could leave me. Our family situation improved in the 1990s, when my brother and I entered public universities and Brazil entered a somewhat more stable period in terms of the economy. Details of school experiences (from preschool to graduate school). 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 I completed my basic schooling in a series of private and public schools in Rio de Janeiro, changing enrollment according to fluctuations in my family's financial situation. At the age of 17 I entered the School of Communication at UFRJ, where I graduated in journalism. I wanted to make a career as a cultural reporter. For a few years I worked as a journalist, in major newspapers such as Globo and in new online media. However, I was dissatisfied with the training I had received at the School of Communication and with the professional perspectives in journalism. I wanted to go to graduate school, although I wasn't sure exactly what. After some doubts, I opted for Political Science and did my master's degree at the former University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro ( Iuperj ). My initial idea was to write a dissertation on political communication in Brazil. But I started my master's degree shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. It was only talked about international politics at that time and I ended up getting interested in the subject. I decided to take an elective on the subject, given by professors César Guimarães and Maria Regina Soares de Lima. Twenty years later, here I am. I really liked the area and at the end of the semester the two professors invited me to work with them. During my Master's I started working as a researcher at a human rights NGO, the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis, dealing mainly with international cooperation projects. I kept this job while doing my PhD at Iuperj . The beginning of the study of China. I started researching China in 2016. I was then a young professor, newly hired at the university. Most of my colleagues at the university were specialists in Latin America, the subject I had worked on the most until then. I was looking for another subject to focus on, because I didn't want to repeat their area of expertise. At the same time, I wanted to start learning a foreign, non-Western language. The two desires met and I enrolled in a Mandarin course, with the aim of researching China. I considered that the country was very important for Brazil, but that there was a big gap in Brazilian studies on Chinese themes. The curricula, the faculty, the institution and the advisor during postgraduate training. I studied master's and doctorate in the 2000s. At the time, Iuperj was one of the main references in Political Science in Latin America. I had excellent teachers, who contributed a lot to my education. During my doctorate, I lived for a semester in Buenos Aires, researching Argentina's relations with Brazil, and traveled extensively around the country. It was a very important and beautiful moment of discovery of other Latin American realities. 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 My master's and doctoral advisor was Professor César Guimarães, to whom I had been an assistant. In the doctorate, Professor Monica Hirst was my co-supervisor , in Buenos Aires. The choice of research subjects, especially those related to China. In the master's and doctorate I worked on issues related to the United States and Latin America. It was only much later that I began to dedicate myself to China. The beginning of the professional career. My academic trajectory is atypical, because when I entered the master's degree I already had a certain professional experience as a journalist, having worked in newspapers, websites and publishing house. During postgraduate studies, I worked as a researcher at an NGO and also started teaching classes at private universities and preparatory courses for Itamaraty. It was a very active time professionally and essential for me to achieve good financial security, in contrast to the instability I had experienced in childhood and adolescence. When I finished my doctorate, I did not immediately enter academic life. I spent a few years working for public administration, federal and state, and then for Amnesty International, again as a human rights researcher. I only became a full-time professor in 2015, eight years after finishing my PhD. Intellectual growth after graduation. After completing my doctorate I took a series of short courses in Brazil, England and Germany, covering topics such as public administration, public policies and human rights. Working at Amnesty International, I traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East. In parallel, I spent a month in the United States as a visiting professor at the New School University in New York. These were experiences that expanded my intellectual and cultural formation. Professional societies, associations, research staff and so on. Academic associations have been important to me above all as a space for holding conferences, in particular those of International Studies Association and Latin American Studies Association . Through them, I traveled several times to the United States and Asia , to present papers and participate in debates. More recently I joined the board of Observa China, think tank formed by young Brazilian researchers dedicated to China and this interaction has been a very rewarding experience. 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 Events or experiences that affect research in China nationally and individually. The beginning of my research on China is contemporaneous with a period in which the country began to play a controversial role in Brazilian party politics, and discussions on Chinese themes have taken place in an environment of increasing polarization. The same is true of the China-US relationship. On the one hand, this type of scenario greatly increases the public's interest in my work and the projection of my analyses. On the other hand, it also means greater pressure for me to take a stand, assess the political weight of what I do and have a constant concern to maintain objectivity and the ability to evaluate. Reflections on textbooks or teaching materials about China. In the courses I teach on China, I have sought a balance in the choice of bibliography, selecting both Chinese and foreign authors – from Europe, the USA and Brazil. The idea is to contrast the views of researchers from different nationalities and from different cultural and political backgrounds. The origin and quality of students in China over time. I haven't taught in China yet, but I hope to someday. The distribution of supervised dissertation subjects over time. I have supervised a large amount of work on China, both at the undergraduate, master's and doctoral level. Most of these surveys concern China's diplomatic relations. The development and evolution of China's own research agenda. At the beginning of my involvement with China I was simply concerned with learning about the country and reading good books and studies that explained its history and development. It was only little by little that I began to develop my own research agenda, based above all on China's relations with Brazil and its economic impact on the country. The source of research funding over time. The main funding I received was a productivity grant from the university itself, to research China, and a contract from the British publisher Palgrave Macmillan to write a book about the country. I also made a trip to the United States, financed by think American tank , to present a study on China. Engagement in debates about China, both theoretical and practical. 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 My participation takes place mainly with analyzes of the importance of China to Brazil and other Latin American countries. My interlocutors are often Brazilians, Americans, Canadians and Europeans interested in understanding more about the subject. Engagement in policy, consultation or risk analysis in the public and private sectors. I often receive invitations to speak about China. They are mainly interviews for the press, but occasionally there are also lectures and lives for private companies, mainly discussing issues such as business opportunities in Sino-Brazilian relations. I also receive many demands from foreign diplomats in Brazil and from international NGOs wanting to understand China's role in the country. Involvement in transnational research projects on China. I am one of the researchers on the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's China Global/Local project, which analyzes Chinese relations with countries in the Global South. And I often participate in conferences and workshops with researchers of different nationalities to exchange ideas about China. Relations with academics, practitioners, government and other connections from China. In my work I have contact with Chinese academics, journalists and diplomats. These are cordial relationships, but they have never developed into professional partnerships as solid as the ones I have with Americans and Europeans. There is always the weight of the official positions of the Chinese government, and for me it is important to maintain my autonomy and independence as a researcher. Frequency of visits to China and recall of trips to China. I've been to China twice, in 2017 and 2018. Both trips were excellent and I mainly visited Beijing and the Chinese south: Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau... Subsequent travel plans were interrupted by the pandemic, but I hope to resume them as soon as possible. sanitary conditions allow. I am thinking of staying for a few months as a visiting researcher at some Chinese university. Other experiences abroad such as visits, lectures, conferences, etc. Before the pandemic, I traveled abroad frequently to attend conferences, workshops or other academic events. Most of these trips were to Europe or the United States, with which the educational exchange with Brazil is stronger. My trips to Asia were basically my personal initiatives. 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 The relationship with the government. I often meet with Chinese diplomats in Brazil to talk about Brazilian politics or the bilateral agenda. I am also a contributor to Chinese official media such as Xinhua , CGTN and People's Daily with interviews and articles. Publishing experiences. I had an article about the bilateral relationship published in the Communist Party of China newspaper, “People's Daily”. It was a good experience to see my text published in Mandarin. I look forward to translating my book on Brazil-China relations into the language. Self-perceived contribution to views and theories about China. I believe I contribute to a richer and more nuanced view of China's relations with Brazil and other Latin American countries, marked above all by debates on mutual economic development. It has been a gradual learning process, very enriching. Evaluation of China studies in Brazil/Latin America and its future perspectives. I see two major challenges for Latin American sinologists. The first is technical: acquiring the knowledge necessary to become a good researcher on China Evaluation of Chinese pedagogy in Brazil/Latin America and its future perspectives. My experience in this field only applies to the Mandarin course I study. The pedagogy is largely based on memorization and repetition of characters, which is sometimes difficult for Brazilian students, accustomed to other forms of learning. China Academic Establishment and Scholarship Assessment. China has excellent possibilities for scholarships, but there is still a lot of ignorance among Brazilian students about these opportunities, including the fact that in many Chinese universities they can take courses in English. Visions on China's future. 台 灣 大 學 政 治 學 系 中 國 大 陸 暨 兩 岸 關 係 教 學 與 研 究 中 心 The last 40 years were exceptional in Chinese history, with a highly favorable international scenario of peace and prosperity. The future promises to be more difficult, marked by fiercer global rivalries, renewed boundary and boundary disputes and domestic challenges of transitioning from a middle-income to a high-end economy, amid an aging population. , with a low birth rate.