German-speaking emigrants from the interwar period - both Jewish and non-Jewish - were among the most fundamental figures in the cultural field of the 20th century. Despite their low degree of... Show moreGerman-speaking emigrants from the interwar period - both Jewish and non-Jewish - were among the most fundamental figures in the cultural field of the 20th century. Despite their low degree of permanent settlement in Brazil, the country played an important role in the diaspora of these immigrants to the Americas. If on the one hand, their migratory flow to Brazil was limited, on the other this immigration was large enough to significantly change the communities that were already established in the country. Such a change imposed internal tensions that were aggravated by the German national-socialist cultural policies in Brazil and by the increasing upsurge of xenophobic and authoritarian policies under the presidency of Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945). The effects of these policies reverberated across the Brazilian artistic field as frictions between the national and the foreign artistic modernist movements. Show less
In recent decades there has been an exponential increase in large hydroelectric plants in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region. These large hydraulic structures impact the environment and the... Show moreIn recent decades there has been an exponential increase in large hydroelectric plants in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region. These large hydraulic structures impact the environment and the lives of people living in the places where they settle and require a special type of water governance.The dictatorial regime (1964-1985) created a “standard” for the construction of these great structures, through an institutional and legal framework, which benefited the Brazilian business elite but also, through the creation of a popular imagination, which shows itself lasting progress on the country's progress and development. The suspension of security, the fragility of institutional environmental structures, the disrespect for indigenous reserves, the lack of clarity about the concept of “affected population” and the non-payment of fair compensation were identified as one of the main challenges for a democratic water governance in the country.In the late 1970s, the Dam-Affected Movement (MAB) began its organization and is also studied in this research.The study is an important and insightful academic contribution to the understanding of the main bottlenecks of effective water governance in Brazil. Show less
Dit promotieonderzoek heeft tot hoofddoel de mogelijke cognaten te analyseren voor bepaalde antiloopsoorten in de Bantoe gemeenschappen. Door enerzijds de fundamentele principes van de Historisch... Show moreDit promotieonderzoek heeft tot hoofddoel de mogelijke cognaten te analyseren voor bepaalde antiloopsoorten in de Bantoe gemeenschappen. Door enerzijds de fundamentele principes van de Historisch-Vergelijkende Taalkunde (vergelijkende methodologie) en anderzijds een maximum aantal bibliografische bronnen te gebruiken, zijn een groot aantal woorden uit een aanzienlijk aantal Bantoetalen verzameld. 174 protovormen betreffende de woordenschat specifiek voor de antilopen in Bantoe zijn uitgelicht. Van deze vormen waren 62 stammen al voorgesteld in de database Bantu Lexical Reconstructions (BLR) (2003) en 14 via andere bronnen. Sommige veelvoorkomende lexicale creatieprocessen in de Bantoetalen zijn semantische uitbreiding, reduplicatie, metathese en de metafoor. Bovendien heeft dit onderzoek het mogelijk gemaakt de betekenis te verfijnen van meerdere reeds voorgestelde reconstructies in de BLR. De semantische velden van de nomenclatuur van dieren zijn onderhevig aan heel wat verschuivingen, wat voornamelijk wordt verklaard door de veranderingen van de nominale klassen, maar ook door problemen met de betrouwbaarheid van bepaalde bronnen. In sommige gevallen is men erin geslaagd de oorsprong van de betekenis van gereconstrueerde stammen te achterhalen en hun semantische motivaties te begrijpen. Show less
In this research I seek to establish a dialogue between ethnomusicology (more specifically indigenous organology), the anthropology of art and the culture of the Apinayé peoples, in order to... Show moreIn this research I seek to establish a dialogue between ethnomusicology (more specifically indigenous organology), the anthropology of art and the culture of the Apinayé peoples, in order to understand how the musical objects of these peoples are learned and taught, and thus to understand its musical system. The methodological support is a practice of ethnographic and bibliographical nature, establishing the possibility of understanding the processes of transmission of Apinayé traditional knowledge and practices as a web that weaves their social, supernatural, mythological and cultural traditions. I present the Apinayé musical instruments as markedly cultural objects, feed on their elders' ancestral knowledge and practices to continue alive. But I also understand the Apinayé musical objects as representatives of a way of being and living in society that is unique to this group. Thus, I interpret the Apinayé musical instruments through its cultural practices, social use, supernatural importance and the worries linked to their perpetuation. The manufacture of these musical objects involves a unique cultural ancestry and allows this specific group to express themselves in a particular way of being in the world through their own musical system. Show less
For nearly twenty-five years, the Dutch West India Company (WIC) occupied part of the northeast of Brazil. This situation, which pertained long ago in the distant past of the XVII century remains... Show moreFor nearly twenty-five years, the Dutch West India Company (WIC) occupied part of the northeast of Brazil. This situation, which pertained long ago in the distant past of the XVII century remains one of the most discussed and studied themes both within and outside the academic world up to the present day. The sugar trade, society, religion, slave trade and the life and work of individuals are all discussed. Although the most important battles on land and sea in the area were regularly described in many historical narratives, some of the most important protagonists in the process of the conquest and occupation of Brazil were forgotten: the soldiers of the WIC. This research was set up with the objectives of reconstructing the life history of a selection of the many anonymous characters who participated in the conquest and occupation of Brazil and investigating the conditions of everyday life for the people of war sent to Brazil between 1629 and 1653. Show less
Arguing that landscape is culturally constructed by social relations and power, my analysis of Frans Post’s landscapes has shown two things: Post’s first canvases, commissioned by Johan Maurits,... Show moreArguing that landscape is culturally constructed by social relations and power, my analysis of Frans Post’s landscapes has shown two things: Post’s first canvases, commissioned by Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau-Siegen, depict specific Brazilian sites according to chorographical and accurate topographical profiles. Frans Post was representing Brazil as a New Holland in the Tropics, a visual strategy due to a Nassau-orangist colonial project. The later paintings, done in the context of colonial defeat, were related to a market of the “Exotic”. They seem to show a crack that revealed two distinct Dutch attitudes to Brazil: a) General expectations about Brazilian landscapes were related to economical interests about sugar production, slave trade and naturalia for cabinets of curiosity. Therefore, these pushed Frans Post’s production toward an indiscriminating image, depicting Brazil as Amoenitates exoticae; and b) Some other few images, that still depicted Brazil in straight reference to specific Brazilian localities, used the motif of ruins to evoke vanitas conventions in order to mark a visual memento of colonial failure. This smaller public for Brazilian landscapes were probably discontented with civil rule after the end of stathouderate in 1650. Show less
