An exploration of contemporary Afro-Brazilian literature, with a focus on the construction of an Afro-Brazilian identity.

Researcher: Leila Hashemi
Supervised by: Paulo de Medeiros
Home department: English and Comparative Literary Studies
Project department: English and Comparative Literary Studies
Expected start date: 24/07/2015
Expected end date: 05/09/2015

I have just finished my undergraduate degree in English Literature, and wrote my dissertation on Dostoyevsky's fiction. My main areas of academic interest include postcolonial theory and intersectional feminism. My interest in pursuing this project stemmed from a passion for the culture, music and language of Brazil, being half Brazilian.

I will mainly based at USP (University of Sao Paulo), travelling to Salvador de Bahia and Rio de Janeiro for research. Whilst Brazil is commonly known as a 'racial paradise/democracy', in reality, the Afro-Brazilian population has faced a pervasive socio-economic repression, as Brazilians of European descent overwhelmingly dominate in terms of wealth, social prowess and political power. In light of this, my project will examine recent Afro-Brazilian literature, which has emerged in spite of the structural barriers Afro-Brazilian's face in being published or achieving a legitimate place in artistic and intellectual spheres.

The project will engage with the cultural movements which have accompanied or inspired new Afro-Brazilian literature, such as the black consciousness movement, Brazilian Afro-Futurism and feminist activism. The Quilombhoje will be of particular interest; a group of writers, poets and activists who established Cadernos Negros, a journal in which many Afro-Brailian writers found their only platform to be published, and which is still exists an active centre of intellectual production for the Afro-Brazilian community in Sao Paulo. My research methods will involve the study Afro-Brazilian cultural history and the interviewing of writers, poets and activists in Sao Paulo and Salvador mainly.