Farewell lecture by Dieter Gawora: "Brazil. Land of the future or the past"

In 1941, the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig wrote the book "Brazil. A country of the future". For decades, the people of Brazil considered the title of the book to be a fitting epithet for their country. This was justified by the fact that, despite massive problems, the population always radiated hope - i.e. a future - to foreign visitors. The melancholy and ironic addition was often added ... a future that we will never reach.

But in 2003, the people of Brazil and the social movements seemed to have reached the future when Lula came to power.

Almost 20 years later, the thought-provoking question must be asked as to whether Brazil is still the country of the future or one of the past. The country is more divided today than it has ever been in its history. The decades of seemingly unshakeable hope that allowed the country to dream of the future for so long can hardly be felt anymore. The major traditional (class) movements of the trade unions and the landless are looking for strategies. The Catholic Church, which socialized so many young people for social justice, is losing influence. At the same time, new movements of black people, women, indigenous people, LGBT people and traditional communities have emerged that define themselves less in terms of class and more in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, tradition or sexual orientation. Can these heterogeneous movements and the people of Brazil overcome the diverse social divisions and create new overarching visions for the country's future? The only certainty is that a continuation of the current policy would inevitably catapult Brazil into a dark past.

Dieter Gawora will address these questions. He has conducted research on and in Brazil at the University of Kassel for almost 40 years. Collaboration with traditional peoples and communities, social movements, non-governmental organizations and colleagues at universities, particularly in the Cerrado and Amazonia, shaped his academic life.

In his farewell lecture at the University of Kassel, he will reflect on these years of research and possible visions for the future. The event also marks the end of the public lecture series "Brazil. Land of the future or the past".

Participation is possible for a maximum of 100 people in attendance.

Participation via Zoom:
The farewell lecture can also be attended online via Zoom. If you are interested in participating via Zoom, please send a message to p.klein[at]uni-kassel[dot]de