Public Lecture Series "Brazil. Land of the Future or of the Past?"

In 1941, while in exile in Brazil, Stefan Zweig wrote the book "Brazil. A Land of the Future. The title of the book was considered an epithet for the country in Brazil for decades. This was justified because, despite massive problems, the population always radiated hope - that is, future - to foreign visitors. Brazilians often added the melancholy-ironic phrase ... a future we will never reach.

Then the improbable happened. With the election of leftist candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president, who took office on Jan. 1, 2003, Brazil had achieved its future. The first years of his government were marked by a broad social awakening and shaping of the future. Disillusionment set in. Brazil is currently ruled by a right-wing president. There is little sign of awakening and hope. His re-election would make Brazil a country of the past. But what could be the future?

Brazil today is a deeply divided country. The question of whether it is still a country of the future or of the past will be examined by the speakers from different angles.

Participation is possible for a maximum of 100 people in presence or you can register for online participation via Zoom with Ms. Klein: p.klein[at]uni-kassel[dot]de.

Lecture on May 19: Does the Cerrado have a future? Book presentation

For the first time in German-speaking countries, there was a "Cerrado Day" in November 2021. The publication of this conference now appears at "kassel university press".

This book wants nothing less than to initiate a broad scientific, political and social debate in German-speaking countries about the Brazilian Cerrado.

The Cerrado is the most species-rich savannah on earth with very high biodiversity, and is about five times the size of Germany. Its importance is beyond question in the ecological sciences. The Cerrado is also a habitat and economic area for many traditional peoples and communities, whose importance is gaining increasing attention in the social sciences. Both diversity domains are interrelated and both domains are threatened in the Cerrado, more than in other regions. The levels of diversity are opposed by national and international economic interests that have degraded the Cerrado into a central region of exploitation in Brazil. This social and ecological destruction has been largely ignored for decades, both domestically and internationally, and has also met with tacit political acceptance.

The result is that about half of the Cerrado's natural vegetation has been destroyed, and in the remaining areas, traditional peoples and communities with their sustainable ways of life and farming are increasingly threatened due to persistently high levels of deforestation.

Unlike tropical rainforests, the Cerrado has not received international attention.

This book aims to contribute to counteracting this destruction dynamic, which continues unabated to this day and is no longer acceptable for many reasons. In eleven contributions, 16 authors from various scientific disciplines as well as from traditional communities explain this important but largely unknown region of the world from different perspectives.

The German-speaking authors Anna Abrahão, Ana Carolina Brugnera, Thomas Fatheuer, Klemens Laschefski and the editor Dieter Gawora will jointly present the book. The book launch will be moderated by Carolin Holtkamp from the University of Innsbruck.

Cerrado
Dieter Gawora (ed.)
Development Perspectives 114
kassel university press, Kassel 2022
196 p., €21.00

All lectures can be found here