XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

Pioneering Afro-Brazilian Thinkers and their Contemporary Legacies

Session Submission Type: Complete Panel

Abstract

In the last decade there has been a significant increase in the publication of black Brazilian writers (and those of other racial and ethnic identities), owing largely to the consistent anti-racist activism of many generations, along with the founding of publishing houses focused on promoting black authors. While these are positive developments, it is essential that we recognize the work of Afro-Brazilian intellectuals over the course of Brazil’s long history and across multiple domains of expertise, so as to not reinforce the inaccurate idea that Afro-Brazilian literature or intellectual work is a recent development. This panel focuses on Afro-Brazilians who made foundational contributions to Brazilian culture, whether in the recent or distant past. The work of these pioneers, many of whom have been forgotten or sidelined in official narratives, continues to have relevance for Brazil in the twenty-first century. Panelists discuss the work of Maria Firmina dos Reis (1825–1917), who is widely considered to be Brazil’s first female—and first black female—novelist, and who represented different marginalized groups in her writing, including indigenous peoples; scholar and activist Beatriz Nascimento, whose work developing the concepts of quilombo and quilombismo impacts the way we understand these spaces to this day; and Apulco de Castro, an Afro-Brazilian journalist and owner of the newspaper O Corsário, who wrote on voting franchise, abolition, and republicanism. By unpacking the legacies of these pioneering Afro-Brazilian thinkers, we aim to foster a comprehension of their pivotal roles and stimulate discussion on their ongoing relevance.

*Note: Paulo Dutra (U New Mexico) has agreed to be a discussant for this panel. Though I've checked with him to confirm that his registration/login information is current, he doesn't come up on the BRASA database, so I was unable to add him that way.

Hybrid session. Link: https://SDSU.zoom.us/j/85686415163

Sub Unit

• XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

Individual Presentations

• Corpo, terra e mar: Beatriz Nascimento’s concepts of quilombo and quilombismo - Tassiana Moura de Oliveira, University at Albany - SUNY

• Apulco de Castro: Radical Afro-Brazilian Republicanism in the 1880s - Paulo da Luz Moreira, University of Oklahoma

• Maria Firmina dos Reis: Contesting Narratives of Oblivion - Jordan Jones, Brigham Young University

• Intergenerational Trauma and “Lugar de Fala” in Maria Firmina dos Reis’s Gupeva - Xana Furtado, Brigham Young University

Chair

• Tassiana Moura de Oliveira, University at Albany - SUNY

Moderator

• Paulo Dutra, University of New Mexico

Session Organizer

• Jordan Jones, Brigham Young University