SCHOOL AND NON-SCHOOL EDUCATION THROUGH THE LENS OF JUDITH BUTLER: TENSIONS OVER PRECARIZATION AND EPISTEMOLOGIES OF RESISTANCE IN THE BRAZILIAN CONTEXT

Abstract

This theoretical essay problematizes the intricate knot between educational policies and social vulnerability in Brazil, examining our reality through the lens of Judith Butler's concepts of "precarious life" and "framing". Far from being a neutral ground, we analyze how pedagogical practices—both in school and non-school settings—operate as normative frames that legitimize the abandonment of marginalized bodies and knowledges. Countering the comfortable narrative that Brazilian education has simply "failed", this work argues that institutional precariousness is a deliberate political program of epistemic exclusion. It concludes that overcoming this reality requires breaking current colonial and banking frameworks, making room for liberta-ação (liberating action): a pedagogical, performative, and deeply Freirean praxis that fights for the recognition of all lives as livable, worthy, and grievable.