A conference celebrating the 500th anniversary of Brazil will bring noted Brazilian and American scholars and activists to campus today and tomorrow, said Portuguese professor Rudolfo Franconi.
The program, which is jointly sponsored by the Dickey Center and the Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies department, will feature topics ranging from Portuguese discovery to contemporary issues in Brazilian society.
These will include Brazilian politics, economic policies, race, sexuality, gender, film, literature and national identity.
The panels, which will all be conducted in English, will bring many experts from Brazil and the U.S. including keynote speaker sociologist Octvio Ianni. He will remain on campus after the conference to teach two courses this spring as a visiting professor.
The panel on modern Brazilian identity includes the homosexual rights movement, the feminist movement and the Black movement.
Franconi also highlighted speakers Luiz Mott, Anita Novinsky, Mrcio Souza and Roberto DaMatta, who are all coming from Brazil.
Mott is the founder and president of the gay rights movement in Bahia, Brazil, and a respected professor of anthropology, said Franconi.
Novinsky will discuss the Jewish contribution and development in Brazil.
Souza is the president of the Brazilian National Foundation for the Arts. He will present a large donation of Portuguese books, CDs, movies and catalogues to Baker Library.
Franconi called DaMatta "the most important anthropologist alive in Brazil." DaMatta is a professor at the University of Notre Dame, and will present a talk called "Brazilian Dilemmas at the Turn of the Millennium."
Renowned Black activist Sueli Carneiro will discuss the Black experience while activist Danda Prado will give a talk titled "Brazilian Women - Sins and Successes 1500 to 2000."
