Date/Time: Wednesday 22nd January 2020, 1:00-2:00pm

Venue: Old Library Building 2.20, Newcastle University

Beyond Latin America: The Rediscovering of African Connections and Its Impact on the Standard Narrative of Brazilian Identity.

From the beginning of the 20th century, Brazil has been going through a process of re-examining its national identity. Despite having developed out of a colonial society with large-scale slavery, the country has never fully contemplated its African past. This socio-political amnesia, however, is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. The enactment of Law 10.639, in 2003, means that African History and the African Diaspora in Brazil have become mandatory topics of instruction in secondary schools and undergraduate university courses. This has been a huge step forward for Afro-Brazilian movements as well as a significant development towards a more inclusive and diverse Brazilian society. Meanwhile, this process has its own challenges. One of those is a profound re-analysis of the standard national narrative that places emphasis on the so-called hybridity, or métissage, that allegedly defines Brazilians. Another side of the same process is the exploration of what “Africa” means at the present. This presentation deals with these two issues in order to arrive at a better understanding of Brazilian National Identity.

Marçal de Menezes Paredes is an Associate Professor at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and currently he is a Visiting Scholar at Harriet Tubman Institute for Africa and its Diaspora and Visiting Professor at York University, Toronto, Canada.

This event is open to everyone to attend, no need to register.