Our Center facilitates convergent, transdisciplinary research endeavors that forge robust connections between OU and Brazil.
Emphasizing strategic verticals integral to OU's overarching Lead On strategic plan, we concentrate on Energy, Environment, and Sustainability; The Future of Health; and Societal and Community Transformation.
Currently, our team is actively engaged in several dynamic research projects.
Photo by Neil Palmer (CIAT), Creative Commons. Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest, near Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Funded with US$ 300,000 by OU’s Vice Presidency for Research and Partnerships through its Big Idea Challenge, this project is led by Kathy Pegion, an associate professor and Williams Chair in the OU School of Meteorology, with co-principal investigators Fabio de Sa e Silva, Associate Professor of International Studies and Wick Cary Professor of Brazilian Studies in CIS, and Rachel Schwartz, Assistant Professor of International & Area Studies in CIS. The team also includes principal investigators from the OU School of Meteorology, the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications, the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and the Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense Innovation Institute.
The goal of the project is to develop subseasonal and seasonal forecasting to better anticipate risks of climate shock and use regional knowledge and established partnerships to co-produce useable and actionable information and tools for partners in Guatemala, Brazil, and Peru.
The Brazilian Amazon stands as the world's largest tropical forest, harboring unparalleled biodiversity. The dynamic shifts in forest area, including loss and gain, and the evolving landscape of conservation efforts within the Brazilian Amazon have captivated the attention of scientists, decision-makers, and the global public. Particularly noteworthy has been the substantial alteration of forest-related laws and their implementation during Jair Bolsonaro's administration from 2019 to 2022, compounded by the complexities introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic spanning 2020 to 2023.
January 2023 marked the commencement of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's third term as the President of Brazil. While Lula demonstrated a commendable record of forest conservation during his initial two terms from 2003 to 2010, the formidable task ahead involves reconstructing and reinforcing robust forest conservation policies.
The governmental transitions in Brazil spanning the period from 2000 to 2026 provide a distinctive opportunity to delve into the dynamics of the forest and conservation efforts within the contextual framework of evolving laws, policies, and socio-economic conditions.
This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Oklahoma, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, INPA, INPE, Embrapa, UFV, UnB and the Washington Brazil Office. Collaborating with various stakeholders, our researchers are setting off to embark on a distinctive process of knowledge co-production. This collaborative effort aims to assess the intricate impacts of changing laws, policies, and socio-economic conditions on the dynamics of forest cover within Indigenous Territories (ITs) and Protected Areas (PAs).
Addressing the multifaceted challenges arising from economic and political de-globalization, food insecurity, climate change, and the transformation of land use/land cover is an imperative that demands a collaborative approach. Tackling these issues and their consequential threats to biodiversity necessitates a novel cohort of researchers, professionals, and leaders adept at solving real-world problems. The key lies in fostering interdisciplinary, convergent, systems thinking, and international perspectives.
Our project, which is currently being developed in partnership with scholars and civil society activists from multiple institutions in Brazil and the US (UnB, INPE, INPA, Embrapa, WWF, UFV, UFGD, UCDB, Unesp Rio Claro, Washington Brazil Office), is dedicated to advancing graduate training in research and sustainability within human-animal-environmental systems (HAES). The focal points include the convergence of social-environmental patterns, encompassing land cover and climate change dynamics, the decline of biological diversity, and the integration of participatory methods to foster sustainability. Our overarching vision is to cultivate a transformative team science training and research program tailored for the study of HAES.
The confluence of compound weather events signals a pressing need for profound societal transformations to both mitigate and adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. Within this critical context, Indigenous peoples emerge as pivotal actors. Possessing unique insights into climate resilience and adaptation, their invaluable knowledge has regrettably been marginalized by colonialist policies.
This collaborative project, undertaken in partnership with colleagues from the Federal University of Western Para (UFOPA), seeks to pioneer an innovative convergence of academic and Indigenous knowledges. The overarching objective is to address the formidable challenges of climate change adaptation through a comprehensive and collaborative approach. Our vision is to create a template for the co-production of knowledge on climate change, resilience, and adaptation, fostering collaboration among social and natural scientists, humanities scholars, and Indigenous communities spanning the Hemisphere.
The Brazilian Amazon will serve as a crucible for testing this groundbreaking idea, with future plans to extend its application to other Global South locations and within the United States, including the state of Oklahoma. Through this multifaceted initiative, we aspire to not only amplify the voices of Indigenous communities but also to establish a framework that transcends geographical boundaries, fostering a broader understanding of climate change adaptation that incorporates diverse perspectives and experiences.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a spotlight on trust-related issues within the realm of healthcare provision, drawing significant attention from both social scientists and policymakers. At the heart of this concern is the rise of vaccine hesitancy and skepticism towards expert guidance. Ongoing studies and policy discussions have focused on two primary areas: unraveling the social determinants of vaccine hesitancy and assessing the crucial role of healthcare professionals in addressing this challenge.
Patients routinely turn to medical doctors and nurses for guidance, relying on their expertise to navigate the intricate landscape of vaccination. These professionals occupy a unique position to furnish accurate information, thereby reducing hesitancy and aiding informed decision-making about vaccination. This role has gained heightened importance in an era marked by the pervasive influence of social media and the spread of misinformation.
However, it's essential to acknowledge that healthcare professionals themselves may encounter obstacles when addressing vaccine hesitancy. Pressures emanating from polarized political environments, challenging work conditions, and personal hesitations can potentially impede their ability to provide comprehensive guidance on vaccine safety and efficacy. This dynamic is particularly pronounced among professionals serving marginalized populations, where historical distrust of healthcare services and providers has deep roots.
Funded by the OU VPRP’s Office and conducted in partnership with FIOCRUZ, FGV São Paulo, and UnB researchers, in Brazil, our research is dedicated to exploring how healthcare professionals navigate the complex landscape of vaccine hesitancy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study draws insights from interviews with doctors and nurses in Brazil and Oklahoma. The interview questionnaire encompasses a wide spectrum of inquiries, delving into professionals’ personal backgrounds, their experiences with vaccines, and their perspectives on the conflicts highlighted in media discussions concerning vaccination policies and hesitancy. Through this research, we aim to illuminate the multifaceted challenges and considerations faced by healthcare professionals as they grapple with vaccine hesitancy.
The OU Brazil Studies Program publishes a One-Pager series, initiated with generous support from the OU Faculty Senate Ed Cline Faculty development award.
The series reports on findings from cutting-edge research on various aspects of Brazilian development in a concise way (one page, two-sided if necessary). The series is open to contributions from scholars from any academic discipline. By maintaining this series, the OU Brazil Studies Program wants to narrow the gap of quality information about Brazil and contribute to a more informed conversation about the past, present, and future of that country among scholars, professionals, and activists based in the Anglo-American world.
Our One Pagers are published in an “open access” format and have been successfully used in classroom settings, in courses about Brazil or comparative studies. For submissions or inquiries, please feel free contact brazilstudies@ou.edu.
LATEST ISSUE: Distributional Conflicts in Urban Street Regulation in Brazil
by Frederico Haddad (May 2023)
As in many areas of social policy in Brazil, there is a marked contrast between the urban policy directives established in the 1988 Federal Constitution and the legacy of car-centered policies adopted in the mid-20th century. The car-centered model has shown an incredible ability to self-reproduce over time. It has prevented more democratic, inclusive and sustainable transportation models from spreading and developing in accordance with the Federal Constitution and federal legislation that, in theory, should guide the implementation of urban policy at the local level. This ability has been supported and legitimized by law operators and enforcers, who play a conservative role, protecting and even deepening an individualistic mobility model and imposing barriers and delays in measures adopted to revert it.
From February 26 to March 12, 2021, the Department of International and Area Studies in the David L. Boren College of International Studies hosted its annual symposium. The focal theme for this event was "The Environment, Human Rights, and Democracy in Bolsonaro’s Brazil."
The symposium comprised plenary sessions featuring distinguished keynote speakers and interactive workshop sessions dedicated to discussing academic papers selected in the preceding year, 2020.
A noteworthy outcome of the symposium was the publication of a special issue featuring the proceedings in the Videre journal. This journal is maintained by our esteemed partners at the Federal University of Grande Dourados in Brazil, reflecting our commitment to fostering international collaboration and disseminating valuable insights generated through scholarly endeavors.
