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Brazilian public scholar visits University

Wed Apr 26 2017 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Brazilian public scholar visits University

26 April 2017

Professor Idlebar Avelar

Brazil is now the eighth largest economy in the world. Yet recent headlines depict a nation in crisis. How did the Olympics proceed after the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and major leaders of the Workers Party? Will current President Temer survive 2017? Is the Right Turn in Brazil affecting other Latin American nations? What is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva´s – Lula´s –political legacy?

These questions and more will be addressed by US-based Brazilian scholar, Professor Idelber Avelar in two public lectures and an international seminar at the University of Auckland in May.

“The past five years have been some of the most eventful and complex in modern Brazilian history,” says Professor Avelar, who specialises in Latin American Intellectual History and Cultural Studies at Tulane University.

“I hope to shed some light on the economic, political, cultural, and musical dimensions of the remarkable transformations recently undergone by the country."

The recipient of multiple international awards, Professor Avelar will spend two weeks at the University as guest of the New Zealand Centre for American Studies (NZCLAS) in the Faculty of Arts. He is on a Seeyle Fellowship funded by The Ralph and Eve Seeyle Charitable Trust to bring leading international visitors to the University.

“This is a perfect chance for the New Zealand community to get first-hand information and analysis of the Brazilian political and social processes of the last 15 years,” says Associate Professor Walescka Pino-Ojeda, director of NZCLAS.

“Professor Avelar is a public intellectual, who seamlessly moves between ground-breaking intellectual analysis, and everyday conversation to explain Latin American politics, culture and social movements, always in the context of global trends and transformations.

“His visit is also an important boost to the NZCLAS mission and contribution to the Government’s initiatives on Latin America, such as the CAPEs (Centres of Asia-Pacific Excellence) and the PMSLA (Prime Minister’s Scholarships to Latin America),” says Associate Professor Pino-Ojeda.

Professor Avelar will be a guest with NZCLAS from 8 -19 May.

Events for Professor Idlebar Avelar’s visit

International SeminarThe Americas Turn Right: So What´s Left?

After the popular leftist governments of the first decade of the 21 century introduced major social programmes with high public approval, both the US and Latin American nations have made a sharp turn to the Right. This focused public seminar will offer a historicised analysis of major recent political changes in the Americas by invited specialists from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, US, and Venezuela.

Tuesday May 9: Arts 1 # 220, 6.30pm (open to public)

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Public Lecture**

The 2013 Uprisings in Brazil and the Waning of Lulismo.

This presentation will take issue with the common assumption that Dilma Rousseff's impeachment proceedings should be blamed on the revolts of June 2013. Rather than taking the ousting of the former President as the point of arrival of a causal chain, it is argued that they laid bare and accelerated a profound crisis of the Lula Da Silva’s government

Wednesday May 17; Arts 1 # 220, 6.30pm (open to public)

Public Lecture

Intersections of Popular Music and Citizenship in post-dictatorial Brazil.

Brazilian popular music has always intersected with the production of citizenship. From the emergence of samba in the early 20th century, music has been an integral part of how Brazilians of all classes and races have coded their relationship with politics. This presentation will review the past 40 years of the relationship between music and citizenship in Brazil.

                Thursday May 18; Auditorium, Auckland Arts Gallery, 6.00pm. Corner Kitchener and Wellesley Streets (open to public)

Notes on Seeyle fellowships.

 These were established in 2006 to help the University attract distinguished persons who are leaders in their field and to host internationally recognised experts for guest lectures and seminars. The Trust provides one or more Visiting Fellowships/Lectureships across all faculties each year.  Details on the Seeyle Fellowships are available on http://www.uoafoundation.org.nz/seelye.html

Contact

Tess Redgrave| Media Relations Advisor

Faculty of Arts

Email: t.redgrave@auckland.ac.nz  

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