Center for Brazil Studies

Co-directors Fabio de Sa e Silva, assistant professor of international studies and Wick Cary Professor of Brazilian Studies, and Michelle Morais de Sa e Silva, assistant professor of international studies

Founded in fall 2019, the Center for Brazil Studies serves as a hub for teaching, outreach and research on pressing topics related to contemporary Brazil. In the brief period since beginning operations, the center has strengthened cross-campus collaboration and partnership with policy makers and scholars in Brazil as well as scholars studying Brazil at other institutions in the United States.

The center launched a unique publication series, Brazil One Pagers, to bring cutting-edge policy relevant research findings about Brazil to the Anglo-American audience in an accessible format. The project was initially funded through an OU Faculty Senate Ed Cline Faculty Development Award.

The center has established a variety of exchange programs, including a Visiting Scholar/Researcher program, a J1 internship program and a summer school to bring Brazilian students, academics and professionals to the Norman campus for intellectual and professional development activities. These exchange programs were the most disrupted element of the center’s agenda during the pandemic, but the center plans to resume these activities in the coming year.

Most recently, the center organized the 2021 IAS Annual Symposium via Zoom webinar, bringing together top Brazilian academics, activists and artists around the theme “The Environment, Human Rights and Democracy in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. ”

The center is involved in transdisciplinary research projects in collaboration with faculty from other OU departments and partner Brazilian institutions that are aimed toward grant application submissions to major funding sources in the United States. Through its multiple activities and partnerships, the center is working to make OU a force in Brazil studies with rising national and international recognition.