Principles of a radical scholar

Body, death and communication in the works of José Carlos Rodrigues

Abstract

This text aims to present a brief reflection on some of the Brazilian anthropologist José Carlos Rodrigues' conceptions about human communication. The unique vision of this author highlights themes rarely studied in the field of communication, such as body-ness, health and death. It is also intended to emphasize the importance of this author's work in understanding communication processes in their socio-anthropological dimensions, based on a discussion of his two main books, Tabu do Corpo and Tabu da Morte. Finally, it discusses the theorization proposed by Rodrigues about the points of contact in Lévi-Strauss' theory applied to communicational phenomena.