ABSTRACT
The article investigates the link between body and freedom as a guiding issue for conceptualizing racism. Based on the reflections developed by Emanuel Levinas, it shows how nazi antisemitism reuses the model of race conceived in the early modern history. It discusses the connections between the modern racist discourse and the myth of racial democracy in Brazil. Finally, it addresses a possible appropriation of Levinas’ thought in contemporary Brazilian debate on racism.
KEYWORDS
Racism; embodiment; antisemitism; Brazilian racial democracy; Levinas