Socio-Legal Discussion Group: Phenotype, scientific racism, and colonialism: the reintroduction of colonial categories of race in committee proceedings within Brazil

My research focuses on the creation of racial quotas in Brazil, I seek to explore how legal concepts of race compare with social understandings of race. I aim to do this by looking at the experiences of applicants applying for university places through racial quotas, adjudicators in their role and policymakers’ perceptions. By investigating racial quotas my research seeks to interrogate the site of historical memory about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in Brazil. What is the overarching legacy of slavery as a historical crime for the nation? How and why did the university become a tool for social change among activists advocating for racial quotas? In addition, my research seeks to understand how racial quotas were created as a step to overcome the legacy of slavery, racial discrimination and stigma in Brazil for the Black and Brown communities.  

• The CSLS Socio-Legal Discussion Group is student-led, with each session exploring a different research topic. See the Trinity SLDG Term Card for the full schedule.
• Light lunch will be provided for those attending in person.
• If you cannot attend in person, please join online via Zoom.