A Feminist Citation Burst? Towards a Framework for Experimentation Using the Scielo Database

This study investigates the recent phenomenon of a “citation burst” involving female intellectuals in Brazilian humanities, drawing on data from SciELO spanning from 2002 to 2023. Using scientometric methods, we identified a notable increase in citations directed specifically towards feminist, Black, decolonial, and Latin American intellectuals. By analyzing co-citation networks, we found that these authors have shifted from peripheral to more central positions in contemporary academic debates. Furthermore, we examined how the gender of authors influences citation practices and academic collaboration patterns, particularly when citing intellectual women, predominantly decolonial and antiracist. This study underscores how broader cultural shifts related to “citation justice” have significantly, though unevenly, impacted scholarly communication dynamics within the humanities in Brazil.