Associate Director of IAAS, Dr. Lesley Feracho, recently returned from a 20-day trip to three cities in Brazil during which she engaged with the local, thriving black Brazilian feminist community through research, cultural events, meetings with activists, and dialogue with members of these communities. Her trip included conference presentations at The State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) and at the X Congresso Internacional Artefatos Negros at the Universidade Federal do Cariri (UFCA), and UGA Ph.D. student, Daniel Ferreira da Silva, assisted with translation to Portuguese. Photograph above (left to right) includes: Professor Henrique Marques Samyn, UERJ (Universidade do Estado de Rio de Janeiro), Dr. Lesley Feracho, and Dr. Katia Costa Santos (received Ph.D. from UGA in 2005). Dr. Feracho had not visited Brazil in six years and especially wanted to get a sense of the people culturally, academically, and politically (especially marginalized populations) under Bolsonaro's presidency. As a 2019-2020 Willson Center for the Humanities & Arts Fellow, Dr. Feracho received a course release this academic year as she pursues research for her second book. The Willson Center Research Fellowship supports excellence in arts and humanities research, and interdisciplinary research is strongly encouraged. Her proposed project examines theoretical, literary, and cultural dialogues between African American women and black Brazilian women through the lens of establishing broad, diverse African diasporic community. We thank the Willson Center for their support as Dr. Feracho pursues this unique work. Students interested in courses with Dr. Feracho should consider either AFAM 4860/ROML 6860 |Topics in Afro-Hispanic Identity or AFAM 7500 |Graduate Introduction to African American Studies during Spring 2020 or AFAM 2000 | Introduction to African American Studies during Fall 2020. Furthermore, Dr. Feracho serves as the Academic Advisor to students majoring, minoring, or pursuing the graduate certificate in African American Studies. Students interested in meeting with Dr. Feracho should email Ms. Kendra Freeman – kkmfree@uga.edu – to schedule a meeting.
