Brazil in the Making: Facets of National Identity / Edition 1

by Carmen Nava California State University, San Marcos, Ludwig Lauerhass

Overview

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, Valéria Costa e Silva, James Green, Efrain Kristal, Ludwig Lauerhass Jr., Cristina Magaldi, Elizabeth A. Marchant, José Mindlin, Carmen Nava, José Luis Passos, Robert Stam, and Valéria Torres

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742537576
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/10/2006
Series:	Latin American Silhouettes
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.64(d)

About the Author

Carmen Nava is associate professor of history at California State University, San Marcos. Ludwig Lauerhass Jr. is lecturer emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

Introduction: A Four-Part Canon for the Analysis of Brazilian National Identity Part I: Texts Chapter 1: Machado de Assis and the Question of Brazilian National Identity Chapter 2: Euclides de Cunha's View of Brazil's Fractured Identity Chapter 3: Gilberto Freyre's Concept of Culture in The Masters and the Slaves Part II: Facts Chapter 4: Brasiliana: Published Works and Collections Chapter 5: Forging Future Citizens in Brazilian Public Schools, 1937–1945 Part III: Sights Chapter 6: The Visual Imaging of Brazilian Identity Chapter 7: Cinematic Images of the Brazilian Indian Chapter 8: The Emperor and His Pedestal: Pedro I and Disputed Views of the Brazilian Nation, 1860–1900 Part IV: Sounds Chapter 9: Two Musical Representations of Brazil: Carlos Gomes and Heitor Villa Lobos Timeline of Brazilian History

Editorial Reviews

An important contribution to understanding Brazilian national identity. Nava and Lauerhass have put together an impressive collection of experts to explore the wide-ranging features of text, sights, facts, and sounds, which together make Brazilians unique. Anyone interested in Brazil should read this book.

Edward Telles