News archive 2010

Director of King’s Brazil Institute appointed

09 Jun 2010, PR 130/10

King’s has appointed Anthony W Pereira as Professor of Brazilian Studies and Director of the King’s Brazil Institute. Founded in 2008, the Institute aims to promote an understanding of Brazil and to develop the profile of Brazilian Studies at university level in the UK.

It co-ordinates and develops Brazil-related research capabilities and Brazil-focused programmes of study at King's, while also building links with Brazilian organisations in education, the cultural and creative sectors, business and government. The Institute will also create and administer a new master’s degree on Brazil.

Professor Pereira explains his vision for the Institute: ‘Over the last three decades, Brazil has opened up to the world, and the world has become much more aware of the importance and growing influence of Brazil. However, knowledge of Brazil often lags behind the country’s new prominence. The King’s Brazil Institute has been created, in part, to fill that gap. We would like to create an institute whose research activities match the complexity, dynamism, and exuberance of Brazil itself. In a relatively short time, the King’s Brazil Institute could become the best institute of its kind in Europe.’

The five core research areas of the Institute are: culture and religion; law, justice, and human rights; medicine, public health and social policy; the environment; and energy and political economy. It is planned to make cross-appointments with existing departments at King’s, so the numbers of researchers and teachers with an interest in Brazil is enhanced. A regular series of visiting fellows from Brazil will be part of the institute – the first two will arrive next January.

A 'bridge to emerging powers'

Professor Pereira adds: ‘I’m delighted to be part of this initiative. The King’s Brazil Institute, together with the China and India Institutes at King’s, can be a bridge to some of the most important “emerging powers” of the 21st century. We hope to facilitate research collaboration and educational exchange between Brazilians and faculty and students at King’s, as well as their counterparts at other universities in the UK.

‘Through our work, perhaps some of the stereotypes and clichés about Brazil can be questioned and superseded. Brazil and the world face critical challenges in the years ahead and we hope to be able to help people make more informed analyses of those challenges in a critical and engaged way.’

The King’s Brazil Institute will complement King’s new Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American Studies, amongst whose members are acknowledged world leaders in the areas of Portuguese, Brazilian and Lusophone-African studies.

Activities of the Institute will also include conferences and seminars. An inaugural event on culture, citizenship and the city was held in May, and a panel on the 2010 presidential election in Brazil will take place on 15 October. More information about the Institute is available on http://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/groups/brazilinstitute.

Notes to editors

Anthony W Pereira - Biography
Anthony W Pereira obtained his BA from Sussex University (U.K.) in 1982 and his MA and PhD degrees from Harvard University in 1986 and 1991 respectively. He has held positions at the New School University, Tufts University, Tulane University, and the University of East Anglia, and has been a visiting professor at Harvard. His research interests include the issues of democracy, human rights, military rule, civil-military relations, and violence, particularly in Brazil and the southern cone of Latin America. A Portuguese translation of his book Political (In)justice: Authoritarianism and the Rule of Law in Brazil, Chile and Argentina (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005) was released in Brazil by Paz e Terra (São Paulo) in early May 2010. He is currently engaged in research on police and public security reform in Brazil.

King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Education 2009) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has nearly 23,000 students (of whom more than 8,600 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and some 5,500 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.



Further information
Melanie Haberstroh
International PR Officer
Email: melanie.haberstroh@kcl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7848 3076

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