Brazil in Global Perspective

Anthony Pereira
Brazil in Global Perspective MA
The King's Brazil Institute was established in 2008 to provide a focal point for Brazil-related teaching and research at King's, as part of a mission to stimulate interest in Brazil in the policymaking, business, NGO, and cultural arenas in London and beyond. I am excited to be leading the Institute's first taught programme, the MA Brazil in Global Perspective, which will welcome its first class in September 2011.

The MA programme offers students an introduction to domestic and international issues in Brazil today, as well as analytical tools for understanding the dynamics of change and continuity from historical, global, and cross-country perspectives, especially in relation to two other BRICs, China and India, as well as Latin America. We feel that one of the most attractive aspects of this MA is the ability students will have to put developments in Brazil in context, while studying in a dynamic global city.

The programme's two core modules are Contemporary Brazil, a broad overview of contemporary social, economic, and political issues, and Brazil and the World, a historical survey of how Brazilians have engaged with the world, and been seen by outsiders, since the country's independence. My optional module Brazilian Government and Politics is designed to complement these core modules by introducing students to Brazil's recent (post-1960) political history, political institutions, and a selection of contemporary political issues. This module draws directly on my three decades of engagement with Brazil, which began when I was a post-graduate student. My current research project builds on my book Political (In)justice (published as Ditadura e Repressão in Brazil) to explore new institutions of accountability in the area of human rights in Brazil. In the course of the MA, I will help students to acquire the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools to do their own research on this gigantic, exuberant, complex, and fast-changing country.