The Ideological Self: Race, Ideology and Identity in Brazil, 1964-1985
Open Access
Author:
Blair, Dana E
Area of Honors:
Interdisciplinary in Anthropology and History
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Timothy Michael Ryan, Thesis Honors Advisor Professor Solsiree Del Moral, Thesis Supervisor Catherine Wanner, Thesis Honors Advisor Dr. Claire M Milner, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
Race Ideology Identity Brazil
Abstract:
According to the ideology of the “racial democracy,” the high rate of miscegenation and absence of legal segregation resulted in the absence of racial discrimination in Brazil. This ideology was incongruent with reality. On every level - social, political and economic - nonwhites were subordinate to whites. During the military dictatorship (1964-1985), the government rejected dialogue and social policy on the issue of racial inequality, exacerbating the marginalization of the nonwhite population. Nonetheless, it was an important period for the development of racial consciousness. The main argument of this thesis is that both the elite and the nonwhite population perpetuated the ideology of the “racial democracy” to support their own interests. The elite used the “racial democracy” to keep race out of the question and maintain white superiority in the social hierarchy. The nonwhite population used the “racial democracy” as an attempt to cope with the incongruence of the “official ideology” with reality.
