BRASA History
BRASA was formally launched during the 1992 Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) in Los Angeles, California. At that meeting some thirty to forty scholars came together and resolved to form an association that would both promote Brazilian studies and continue to build strong links between those who study Brazil and other parts of Latin America.
The First International Congress (BRASA I) was held in Atlanta, Georgia in conjunction with LASA in March 1994. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, an Executive Committee elected, and a Secretariat designated at the University of New Mexico. Founding members Jon M. Tolman and Roberto Reis, were elected as the Association's first President and Vice-President, respectively, and Edward A. Riedinger was elected Secretary.
The second international congress (BRASA II) was held at the University of Minnesota (May 11-13, 1995), BRASA III took place at King's College, Cambridge University (September 7-10, 1996), BRASA IV in Washington, D.C. (November 12-15, 1997), BRASA V in Recife, Pernambuco (June 18-21, 2000), BRASA VI in Atlanta, Georgia (April 3-5, 2002), and BRASA VII was at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro (June 9-12, 2004). The Eighth International Congress (BRASA VIII) was hosted by Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee (October 13-16, 2006). The Ninth International Congress took place at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana (March 27-29, 2008), and the Tenth International Congress was held in Brasília (22-24 July). The Eleventh International Congress (BRASA XI) was held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 6-8 September 2012.
The Twelfth International Congress (BRASA XII) will be held in London.
Past Presidents of BRASA
Randal Johnson
Department of Spanish & Portuguese
University of California, Los Angeles
2010-2012
Peggy Sharpe
Department of Modern Languages & Linguistics
Florida State University
2008-2010
Kenneth P. Serbin
Department of History
University of San Diego
2006-2008
Timothy J. Power
St. Cross College
University of Oxford
2004-2006
James N. Green
Department of History
Brown University
2002-2004
Susan Quinlan
Department of Romance Languages
University of Georgia
2000-2002
Dain Borges
Department of History
University of Chicago
1998-2000
Elizabeth Kuznesof
Department of History
University of Kansas
1996-1998
Jon M. Tolman
Department of Spanish and Portuguese
University of New Mexico
1994-1996
Past Executive Members (1994-2008)
†Tânia Franco Carvalhal, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Anthony Pereira, University of East Anglia
Biorn Maybury-Lewis, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Brian Godfrey, Vasser College
Cecília Santos, University of San Francisco
Celso Castro, Fundação Getúlio Vargas
Christopher Dunn, Tulane University
Clémence Jouët-Pastré, Harvard University
Dalila de Sousa Sheppard, Spelman College
David McCreary, Georgia State University
Donald Ramos, Cleveland State University
Ed Amman, University of Manchester
Eduardo Gomes, Universidade Federal Fluminense
Elizabeth Kiddy, Albright College
Emanuelle Oliveira, Vanderbilt University
Eni de Mesquita Samara, Universidade de São Paulo
James N. Green, Brown University
Jan Hoffman French, University of Richmond
Janet Chernela, University of Maryland
Jeffrey Lesser, Emory University
Jerry Dávila, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
João Roberto Martins Filho, Universidade Federal de São Carlos
Kathryn Hochstetler, University of Waterloo
Leigh Ann Payne, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Linda Rabben, Amnesty International
Luiz Roberto Velloso Cairo, Universidade Estadual de São Paulo
Luiz Valente, Brown University
Maria José Somerlate Barbosa, University of Iowa
Maria Luiza Falcão, Universidade de Brasília
Mark Lokensgard, St. Mary’s University
Marshall C. Eakin, Vanderbilt University
Martha K. Huggins, Tulane University
Peter Beattie, Michigan State University
Raul Reis, California State University, Long Beach
Ricardo Paiva, Independent Scholar
Severino Albuquerque, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Steve Butterman, University of Miami
Ted Hewitt, University of Western Ontario
Thomas M. Stephens, Rutgers University, New Brunswick
Tom Trebat, Columbia University
Wayne A. Selcher, Elizabethtown College
Wendy Hunter, University of Texas at Austin
William C. Smith, University of Miami