University recognizes his contribution to development of Graduate Program in Criminal Sciences
Photo: Bruno Todeschini
On Tuesday, Oct 22, the Universidade de Coimbra professor, Dr Fernando José de Almeida Catroga was awarded an honorary Degree from PUCRS. The award was given by the Law School along with the School of Humanities. Catroga, whose works have been translated into several languages, is a prominent figure in the area of the history of ideas, and a reference to contemporary legal thinking. His 21 years of intense work with PUCRS has helped him make a major contribution to the development of the Graduate Program in Criminal Sciences as well as to a number of activities involving other programs. The award is the highest distinction granted by the University as a recognition to the merits of recipients and their contributions for the arts, sciences, philosophy, languages and literature or even for the better understanding among peoples.
At the music-filled ceremony, the president Br. Dr Evilázio Teixeira pointed out that Catroga’s studies give more complex and interdisciplinary contours to specific areas. “That is an invitation to look at history and contemporary issues as we try to internalize and interpret his work. Truth comes to be seen as an opportunity rather than and end. ” This mutant truth dictates love to people and respect for others”, Teixeira said.
Professor Ruth Gauer. Photo: Bruno Todeschini
The coordinator of the Graduate Program in Criminal Sciences, Dr Ruth Gauer when introducing Catroga, described his two decades of experience at the University, as he taught ten courses and delivered 20 opening classes and conferences. He also became “PUCRS Ambassador to the University of Coimbra”, as he attracted and advised students to the Portuguese institution. The way she sees it, Catroga was essential for PUCRS to reach the level of excellence and the current status it now has. The university is recognized by Capes for having the best graduate programs in Brazil, in a list of programs offered by public and private institutions. It is also highly acclaimed by the Folha de São Paulo University Ranking 2019, for being the best private university in research.
As for Catroga’s production (23 books, 73 book chapters, being seven of which with other authors or serving as a coordinator), Ruth adds that “he refuses any form of uniform thinking; he is also aware of diversity and plurality.”
The professor claimed to be very touched and honored with the distinction. He claimed to be aware of the role PUCRS plays in favor of social and community functions of knowledge in view of the principles that make education the engine of citizenship. In his view, identity and heritage have never been such popular topics, as history becomes a victim of the devaluation of hegemonic powers. In an effort to counteract “the illusion of presenteeism, and a call to simplify facts,” Catroga advocates in favor of historiography, the epistemology of complex systems, a key to finding answers to the challenges of existence. As he thought of Kant, he ended his talk by asking: “What can I know? “What can I do? “What can I expect? What is the man?
Photo: Camila Cunha
He was awarded an Honorary Degree at the 10th International Congress of Criminal Sciences – Memory and Criminal Sciences and the 19th Cross-Sectional Congress of Criminal Sciences of Itec-RS, which ends on Wednesday, Oct 23. The event began on Monday and is advancing an interdisciplinary attitude to criminal sciences.
The opening ceremony featured the Dean of the Law School, Dr Fabrício Pozzebon, and the coordinator of the Graduate Program, Dr Ruth Gauer. Pozzebon stressed the importance of study and research into such a complex issue as violence, as he urged researchers and the academic community to go beyond ideology. He joined the first class of the Graduate Program in Criminal Sciences in 1999. The program has produced 493 Masters and 45 PhDs. “It is a great pleasure to continue to see the sparkle in the eyes of faculty and students in the face of the extensive and complex area of criminal science,” he added.
The opening conference was delivered by Columbia University professor, Dr Bernard Harcourt. He has written books such as The Counterrevolution: How Our Government Went to War Against Its Own Citizens (2018) and Exposed – Desire and Disobedience in the Digital Age (2016).
Bernard Harcout Photo: Camila Cunha
Harcourt drew attention to the massive presence of people in digital means. The way he sees it, social networks compile data about their users, retailers get information about their consumers and intelligence agencies monitor society full time. Camila Cunha
To his mind, we are building what he calls the exhibition society – a platform for unprecedented levels of exhibition, observation and influence that are reshaping our political relationships and reshaping the concept of an individual. Although people are exposing themselves in a voluntary way, it has propelled us to think about the consequences in a different way.
The professor associated the massive exposure with what he names the counterinsurgency movement, a movement that saw its beginning in the United States. In that context, massive intelligence collection, segregation of minorities and peaceful propaganda are shaping public opinion. If in the past, the movement was associated with a military strategy, today it is increasingly related to how to rule a country.
Photo: Bruno Todeschini
Fernando José de Almeida Catroga was born in S. Miguel do Rio Torto, Abrantes, district of Santarém (Portugal), on Jul 30, 1945. In 1964-1965, he was admitted to the Instituto Superior de Econômicas e Financeiras (Universidade Técnica de Lisboa). However, later he transferred to the Philosophy program. In 1974, he was hired as an Assistant to the History Group of the Faculty of Modern Languages of the University of Coimbra. In 1988, at the Faculty of Modern Languages, he defended his doctoral dissertation in Modern and Contemporary History titled Laic Militancy and the De-Christianization of Death in Portugal (1865-1911). In 1990, he earned unanimous approval for the position of Associate Professor, for which he got tenure in 1995.
In his long career, he taught multiple disciplines, including Epistemology of the Human Sciences, History of Education, History of Ideological Movements in Portugal, History of Portuguese Culture, Theory of History, Genesis and Idea of Nation. He serves as a member of the National Consultative Commission for the Centennial Commemorations of the Republic (which was embraced by the Board of the Council of Ministers until Jul 2011). He was also a member of the Scientific Committee of the Congress “Outras Vozes da República”, organized by the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic of Portugal.
In 1998, he won the Military Order of Santiago da Espada of Portugal, for his scientific merits, by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Jorge Sampaio. In 2001, he won the Medal of Honor at the Universidade de São Paulo. Since 2017, he has been a member of the Academia Portuguesa de História.
Check out other photos of the cceremony: