The Politics of Blackness: Racial Identity and Political Behavior in Contemporary Brazil

Gladys L. Mitchell-Walthour

ISBN 10: 1107186102 / ISBN 13: 9781107186101

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2017

About this Item

New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. This book examines Afro-Brazilian individual and group identity and political behavior, and develops a theory of racial spatiality of Afro-Brazilian underrepresentation. Seller Inventory # B9781107186101

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Politics of Blackness: Racial Identity ...

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Publication Date: 2017

Binding: Hardback

Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis:

This book uses an intersectional approach to analyze the impact of the experience of race on Afro-Brazilian political behavior in the cities of Salvador, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. Using a theoretical framework that takes into account racial group attachment and the experience of racial discrimination, it seeks to explain Afro-Brazilian political behavior with a focus on affirmative action policy and Law 10.639 (requiring that African and Afro-Brazilian history be taught in schools). It fills an important gap in studies of Afro-Brazilian underrepresentation by using an intersectional framework to examine the perspectives of everyday citizens. The book will be an important reference for scholars and students interested in the issue of racial politics in Latin America and beyond.

Review:

'Gladys Mitchell-Walthour's The Politics of Blackness is a welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarship on Afro-Brazilian politics. Her nuanced exploration of ongoing patterns of political inequality and under-representation impacting Afro-Brazilians will generate interest among scholars and a more general public seeking to understand the relationship between color identification, electoral competition, and group affirmation in contemporary Brazil.' Michael G. Hanchard, University of Pennsylvania

'Gladys Mitchell-Walthour has produced a pioneering study of political behavior in three major cities of Brazil: Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Building on recent literature focusing on race and color in Brazil, Mitchell-Walthour uses intersectionality theory imbued with knowledge of Brazilian gender, racial, and economic perspectives. Most important is the author's dedication to understanding how Afro-Brazilians explain political inequality and to using a mixed methods approach to understand how interpretations of life experiences of Afro-Brazilians affect individual and group outlook on the political world. Including everyday experience is a crucial component to understanding the importance of developing Afro-Brazilian influence on the political culture of Brazil.' Jan Hoffman French, University of Richmond