Modern Brazil

Kevin Neuhauser teaches at Seattle Pacific University. From 1980-1983, he lived in a Brazilian squatter settlement, working as a community organizer. He earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1990. He is the author of numerous articles on politics and gender in Latin America, and is currently involved in a research project on how gender shapes grass-roots community mobilization in urban Brazil.

One in a series of short books devoted to different countries that offers much-needed cross-cultural and global material to instructors. Used alongside an introductory sociology text or as a supplement in courses on comparative societies, comparative politics, comparative economics, or social stratification, this book brings a rich global perspective into the undergraduate classroom. The opening chapter establishes historical and cultural context, while subsequent chapters focus on the basic institutions, social stratification, social problems and social change. The chapter organization is typical of a standard introductory sociology text making it easy to use in any class. In "Modern Brazil," the author draws upon his personal experience of living in a Brazilian squatter settlement, looking at the culture through the eyes of ordinary people. Global issues such as urbanization, racial and cultural mixing, gender issues, and religious expression are given more meaning as the author examines them through a personal context.

Chapter I: Sociology and Brazil