Brazilian Mosaic


Book Description

A mosaic providing a rich and detailed picture of Brazilian culture is created by the forty-four excerpts and essays contained in this stimulating volume. Written by both contemporary experts and period observers--including naturalists, sociologists, historians, and novelists--the selections cover five centuries of Brazilian history, taking the reader from the colonial era to the 1900s.




A History of Modern Brazil


Book Description

Over time, Brazil has evolved into a well-defined nation with a strong sense of identity. From the natural beauty of the Amazon River to the exciting resort city of Rio de Janeiro, from soccer champion Pelé to classical musician Villa Lobos, Brazil is known as a distinctive, diverse country. This book provides a well-rounded, brief history of Brazil that uniquely focuses on both the politics and culture of the republic. Colin MacLachlan uses a political narrative to frame the evolution of national culture and the formation of national identity. He evaluates Brazilian myths, stereotypes, and icons such as soccer and dancing as part of the historical analysis. A History of Modern Brazil will inform and entertain students in courses on Brazil and modern Latin America.




The History of Brazil


Book Description

Brazil is a vast, complex country with great potential but an uneven history. This engaging study will introduce readers to the history of Brazil from its origins to today. It emphasizes current issues and problems, including the country's return to democracy after more than two decades of harsh military rule and the economic consequences of adopting free-market policies as part of the creation of the global marketplace. Levine, a noted Brazilianist, explains the legacy of slavery on race relations, the stubborn persistence of barriers to upward mobility, and the characteristics of Brazil's exuberant culture. The author draws not only from a broad array of traditional sources but from oral histories and postings on the Internet. The history of Brazil unfolds in narrative chronological chapters beginning with the Portuguese conquest, then moving on to the colonial period, Independence, the nineteenth-century monarchy—the only one in Latin America—the Republic, the nationalist regime under Vargas, the eclipse of democracy under military rule in the 1960s and 1970s, and the current democratically elected government under Cardoso, who was elected in 1998 to his second term. Short biographical sketches of 40 prominent Brazilians, a glossary of Portuguese terms, and a bibliographical essay add reference value to this work.




Culture and Customs of Brazil


Book Description

Race, religion, language, culture, and national character are full of contradictions. Brazil, the largest country in South America, embodies so much paradox that it defies neat description. This book will help students and general readers dispel stereotypes of Brazil and begin to understand what country's bigness means in terms of its land, people, history, society, and cultural expressions. This is the only authoritative yet accessible volume on Brazil that surveys a wide range of important topics, from geography, to social customs, art, architecture, and more. Highlights include discussions of the fluid definitions of race, rituals of candomble, the importance of extended family networks, beach culture, and soccer madness. A chronology and glossary supplement the text.




Brazilian Evangelical Missions in the Arab World


Book Description

"From a mission field to a missions sender." These words capture the story of the Brazilian evangelical church, which has gone from receiving missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to becoming a movement that presently sends out more global laborers than the churches of England or Canada do. After narrating Brazil's missional shift, in this volume Smither addresses one fascinating element of the story--Brazilian evangelical efforts in the Arab world. How have Brazilians adapted culturally among Arabs, how have they approached ministry, and how have they cultivated a theology of mission in the process? Brazilian Evangelical Missions in the Arab World gives the reader insights from one emerging missions movement with an eye toward a more comprehensive view of the global church.




The Cerrados of Brazil


Book Description

The massive grasslands of Brazil -- known as the cerrados -- which cover roughly a quarter of its land surface and are among the most threatened regions in South America, have received little media attention. This book brings together leading researchers on the area to produce the first detailed account in English of the natural history and ecology of the cerrado/savanna ecosystem. Given their extent and threatened status, the richness of their flora and fauna, and the lack of familiarity with their unique ecology at the international level, the cerrados are badly in need of this important and timely work.




Brazil in the Making


Book Description

This innovative volume traces Brazil's singular character, exploring both the remarkable richness and cohesion of the national culture and the contradictions and tensions that have developed over time. What shared experiences give its citizens their sense of being Brazilian? What memories bind them together? What metaphors and stereotypes of identity have emerged? Which groups are privileged over others in idealized representations of the nation? The contributors--a multidisciplinary group of U.S. and Brazilian scholars--offer a fresh look at questions that have been asked since the early nineteenth century and that continue to drive nationalist discourse today. Their chapters explore Brazilian identity through an innovative framework that brings in seldom-considered aspects of art, music, and visual images, offering a compelling analysis of how nationalism functions as a social, political, and cultural construction in Latin America. Contributions by: Cristina Antunes, Dain Borges, Val ria Costa e Silva, James Green, Efrain Kristal, Ludwig Lauerhass Jr., Cristina Magaldi, Elizabeth A. Marchant, Jos Mindlin, Carmen Nava, Jos Luis Passos, Robert Stam, and Val ria Torres







The Broken Mosaic


Book Description

The author, a Brazilian economist, combining autobiographical reflection and summation of a lifetime's work in developing countries, gives his views on the failings of conventional economics to effect postive change in the lives of the poor. Rejects both old fashioned statist economics and utopian post economics ideas of social organization.




Adventures of a "Gringo" Researcher in Brazil in the 1960's


Book Description

Adventures of a "Gringo" Researcher in Brazil in the 1960s or In Search of Cordel is an entertaining and informative account of Professor Curran's first foray in Brazil. In this book he tells two stories: the research to collect cordel and, perhaps more importantly, the travel and the adventures of the year in Brazil. The two are inseparable and complement each other. Chapters include Recife and the Northeast, Travels to the interior of the Northeast, research in Brazil's colonial capital of Salvador da Bahia, research and tourism in Rio de Janeiro, trips to the interior of Rio, including Ouro Preto, Congonhas do Campo, and a memorable trip on a wood-burning stern wheeler on the Sao Francisco River in Minas Gerais and Bahia, and finally, research in the Amazon Basin, including both Belem do Para and Manaus. The account is not in academic language but in a colloquial, conversational style. Curran writes as one sitting down with the reader and telling tales of his travels, and perhaps with the author and reader enjoying a caipirinha, or a Brazilian draft beer choppe as they talk.




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