Tag: brazil

Excerpt: Native and National in Brazil, by Tracy Devine Guzman

Rethinking how the representation of indigenous needs and interests works in local, national, and international politics, and reconfiguring the problematic relationship between indigeneity and dominant sovereignty, means more than Native peoples’ being inserted, or even inserting themselves, into existing political structures and institutions—however crucial and challenging that feat continues to be. At the very least, it must also mean rethinking sovereignty in collaboration with indigenous peoples and not for them. Continue Reading Excerpt: Native and National in Brazil, by Tracy Devine Guzman

A UNC Press Reading List to Accompany the PBS series “Black in Latin America”

The UNC Press reading list to accompany Henry Louis Gates Jr’s PBS documentary series “Black in Latin America.” Continue Reading A UNC Press Reading List to Accompany the PBS series “Black in Latin America”

American Democracy and the Challenge of Globalization

The midterm election campaign now approaching the home stretch has brought with it striking but fairly empty calls to action–from the Tea Party frenzy over fiscal virtue to a president exhorting his base with the banal promise of “moving America forward.” But this and all the other lamentable features of our democracy, it is worth stressing, are nothing new. Many… Continue Reading American Democracy and the Challenge of Globalization

Paulo Freire, Lula, and the Next Step for Brazil

We welcome a guest post today from Andrew J. Kirkendall, author of Paulo Freire and the Cold War Politics of Literacy. In his political biography of Freire (1921-97), a native of Brazil’s impoverished northeast who developed adult literacy training techniques that remain influential today, Kirkendall gives new perspectives on the history of the Cold War, the meanings of radicalism, and… Continue Reading Paulo Freire, Lula, and the Next Step for Brazil

Gilberto Gil Decides to Stick with Music

Brazilian musician and Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil has decided to leave his government post to focus his attention on his music career. When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tapped Gil to be Culture Minister in 2003, Gil was only the second black person to serve in Brazil’s cabinet. The government’s loss now, though, is music’s gain. Gil is one… Continue Reading Gilberto Gil Decides to Stick with Music