Brazil In The Making

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.

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 and memories give its citizens their sense of being Brazilian? What metaphors and stereotypes of identity have emerged? 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 the interlinked concepts of texts, facts, sights, and sounds, offering a compelling analysis of how nationalism functions as a social, political, and cultural construction in Latin America.

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.