O ensaio na época da morte do ensaio

In order to approach the theme of academic writing, it seems interesting to introduce three aspects into the matter: first, the general situation experienced by the public university today, both in Brazil and abroad; second, the particular situation faced by the humanities, including the question of research funding; third, the particular nature of the essay, the genre that is the core of the writing in the various humanities. Nothing can take the place of the essay as the primary activity of our area, because it means the acknowledgment of the singularity of its form, and also because it is proper to it the capacity of inscribe an equally unique authorship inside this form.