Brush Up on Brazil For the 2016 Summer Olympics!

In August, the 2016 Summer Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Over the course of sixteen days, athletes from around the world will compete in 28 sports for 306 sets of medals. Build up for the games has come not only from the excitement of the Olympics trials in sports like diving, gymnastics, and volleyball, but also from media reports of Brazil’s social and economic troubles, leading many to question whether or not Brazil is ready to host the events.
Are you curious to know what the media is getting right? Or maybe you’re interested in learning more about Brazilian culture in general? The UTC Library has two eBook collections that feature a multitude of books to pique your interest in Brazil.
The Duke University Press eBook collection features many works that explore diverse cultures and experiences, particularly in Latin America.
Go to Duke University Press eBook collection

One item in their holdings is “Bruno: Conversations with a Brazilian Drug Dealer” by Robert Gay. This book is the product of Gay’s interviews with a man named Bruno, who provides stark details about life in prison, the Brazilian drug trade, and the complex structures of gang life.

Another work available is “Making Samba: A New History of Race and Music in Brazil” by Marc A. Hertzman. His book looks at the way Afro-Brazilian culture transformed in the 1920s within the context of intellectual property claims on music.
Finally, Duke has published “Pretty Modern: Beauty, Sex, and Plastic Surgery in Brazil” by Alexander Edmonds. His work, inspired by a parade that paid homage to a Rio de Janeiro-based plastic surgeons, explores notions of beauty in both wealthy and impoverished Brazilian communities.

The Palgrave eBook collection, available through SpringerLink on the library’s website, also contains many titles focused on social and cultural institutions in Brazil.
Go to Palgrave eBook collection

The book “Race, Politics, and Education in Brazil” by Ollie A. Johnson III and Rosana Heringer examines the manner in which affirmative action policies have been implemented in Brazil’s universities.

“Reimagining Black Difference and Politics in Brazil” by Alexandre Emboaba Da Costa places the political struggle of Black Brazilians in a greater context of various ideologies throughout the Americas.

Another interesting title is “Women’s Police Stations” by Cecilia MacDowell Santos. Sao Paulo was the first city in Brazil to house a police station run by women for women as a way of investigating crimes like domestic violence or rape. This work looks at woman’s relationship to the state within the context of these stations.
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These books only scratch the surface of what is available through both Duke University Press and Palgrave’s eBook collections. We hope these resources will satisfy your curiosities and help you learn a little more about the country set to take the world stage!