Urban Encounters: Affirmative Action and Black Identities in Brazil

University racial quotas have caused strong reactions in Brazil, where ideals of racial and cultural mixture are crucial components of national identity. Focusing on an in-depth ethnographic study of a Rio de Janeiro public university and its students, André Cicalo examines the practical and symbolic potential that affirmative action has to redress historically-produced and territorialized inequalities in the urban space. By engaging with the relevant literature on Brazilian race relations, this volume discloses novel considerations, crucial for a possible future reading of race relations, racial classification, and affirmative action in Brazil.