Urban Encounters - by A Cicalo (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this work, I discuss the introduction of racial quotas in favor of 'black' students in some public universities of the State of Rio de Janeiro. The implementation of racial policies has raised strong reaction in a country like Brazil, where ideals of racial and cultural mixture are crucial components of national identity. Focusing on my ethnographic study of a public university and its users, I analyze the practical and symbolic potential that affirmative action has to redress historically-produced and territorialized inequalities in the urban space. Due to the variety of users that racial and other social quotas have produced, the ethnography allows for a broader discussion of race and class relations in Rio de Janeiro and in Brazil"--

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Latin American Studies Association Brazil Section Book Awards. Utilizing an ethnographic study of a public university and its users, Cicalo analyzes the practical and symbolic potential that affirmative action has to redress historically-produced and territorialized inequalities in the urban space.

Review Quotes

"With Urban Encounters, André Cicalo has delivered a much needed work in the pressing issue of affirmative action in Brazil, about which there is a dearth in the English-language literature. His very readable book will be a welcome addition to courses on race relations, urban anthropology, Brazilian studies, and Latin American studies." (Vânia Penha-Lopes, Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 52 (2), December, 2015)

"Cicalo's work is highly original and is the most thoughtful treatment of university quotas in Brazil yet written. This perspective is of considerable importance because of the light it sheds on the process as it is unfolding on the ground and in real time. His ideas for policy implications are interesting and suggestive." - John Burdick, professor of Anthropology, Syracuse University

About the Author

André Cicalo is Post-Doctoral at Freie Universität, Germany