Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil

Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil

Duke University Press
1999
232 pages
9 tables
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8223-2272-6
Cloth ISBN: 978-0-8223-2252-8

Edited by

Michael Hanchard, Professor of Political Science and African American Studies
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Bringing together U.S. and Brazilian scholars, as well as Afro-Brazilian political activists, Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil represents a significant advance in understanding the complexities of racial difference in contemporary Brazilian society. While previous scholarship on this subject has been largely confined to quantitative and statistical research, editor Michael Hanchard presents a qualitative perspective from a variety of disciplines, including history, sociology, political science, and cultural theory.

The contributors to Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil examine such topics as the legacy of slavery and its abolition, the historical impact of social movements, race-related violence, and the role of Afro-Brazilian activists in negotiating the cultural politics surrounding the issue of Brazilian national identity. These essays also provide comparisons of racial discrimination in the United States and Brazil, as well as an analysis of residential segregation in urban centers and its affect on the mobilization of blacks and browns. With a focus on racialized constructions of class and gender and sexuality, Racial Politics in Contemporary Brazil reorients the direction of Brazilian studies, providing new insights into Brazilian culture, politics, and race relations.

This volume will be of importance to a wide cross section of scholars engaged with Brazil in particular, and Latin American studies in general. It will also appeal to those invested in the larger issues of political and social movements centered on the issue of race.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction / Michael Hanchard
  • Free African Brazilians and the State in Slavery Times / Richard Graham
  • Black Cinderella? Race and the Public Sphere in Brazil / Michael Hanchard
  • Ethnic Boundaries and Political Mobilization among African Brazilians: Comparisons with the U.S. Case / Edward E. Telles
  • Racial Democracy and Racial Identity: Comparing the United States and Brazil / Howard Winant
  • Miguel Reale and the Impact of Conservative Modernization on Brazilian Race Relations / Michael Mitchell
  • Women and Racial Inequality at Work in Brazil / Peggy A. Lovell
  • Notes on Racial and Political Inequality in Brazil / Carlos Hasenbalg and Nelson do Valle Silva
  • The Black Movement and Political Parties: A Challenging Alliance / Benedita da Silva
  • My Conscience, My Struggle / Thereza Santos
  • Blacks and Political Power / Ivanir dos Santos
  • Contributors
  • Index
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