Launch of the European Network of Brazilianists – REBRAC
Sara Brandellero, Assistant Professor in Brazilian Studies (LUCAS), is a founding member of the newly launched European Network of Brazilianists working in Cultural Analysis/Rede Europeia de Brasilianistas de Análise Cultural – REBRAC. Network launched at international conference at the University of London.
Remapping Brazilian Cultural Studies
On 25 September, Sara Brandellero, jointly with Dr Stephanie Dennison (Reader in Brazilian Studies, Leeds, UK) and Dr Tori Holmes (Lecturer in Brazilian Studies, Queen’s University Belfast, UK), organised the international conference Remapping Brazilian Cultural Studies, held at Senate House, University of London. Organised with the generous support of the Institute of Latin American Studies of the University of London (ILAS), the event counted around 50 delegates and opened with a keynote address by Professor David Treece, of King’s College London. The conference provided an important forum to take stock of the field of Brazilian cultural analysis and also served as the launch of, and first output of, the new European network REBRAC.
Why a new network?
REBRAC (Rede Europeia de Brasilianistas de Análise Cultural/European Network of Brazilianists working in Cultural Analysis) has been launched to provide an urgently needed networking space for both established and postgraduate/early career scholars working in Brazilian cultural analysis in Europe. It aims to provide scholars with a forum to exchange ideas and raise their profiles online and in person, in an atmosphere of conviviality and mutual support. Working in collaboration with other associations in Portuguese/Brazilian studies, such as the International Association of Lusitanists (AIL), REBRAC will serve to share information on developments in Brazilian cultural affairs, on academic activities in Europe, Brazil and elsewhere linked to cultural analysis, and to forge and develop potential links and collaborations between Brazilianists based in Europe.
Despite its size (half of South America), its increasing importance both in terms of its International Relations profile and investment in the culture industries, the attention it is drawing from the organization of mega-events (Rio+20 Summit; World Cup; Olympics), the breadth and volume of its cultural production and the range of research being carried out by Europe-based scholars, within Europe Brazil is still too frequently omitted from broader discussions of Latin American culture, or subsumed within wider discussions in which its cultural specificities are ultimately elided. REBRAC thus aims to bring Brazilian cultural analysis into sharp focus.
For further information on REBRAC, see the https://rebracweb.wordpress.com
with links to FB page and Twitter. To join the mailing list and other information, email: rebrac.network@gmail.com