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Date of Award

Spring 2025

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Department or Program Affiliation

History

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

López, A. Ricardo, 1974-

Second Advisor

Cameselle-Pesce, Pedro

Third Advisor

Neem, Johann N.

Abstract

This research examines University professors in Southeastern Brazil and their role as educators during the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), connecting them to broader structures of repression, resistance, and political ideology. By analyzing the political and ideological contexts within higher education, this study explores why professors were systematically targeted and how their repression pushed them to become politically active within university institutions or abroad.

Given the intense censorship of government records of this time, this research employs a critical analysis of government documents, press sources, and first-hand accounts from persecuted professors to reconstruct the impact of repression on academia.

This thesis argues that University professors were viewed as threats to the regime’s ideological compass, leading to censorship, purges, and structural reforms in academia, forcing professors into co-optation or pushing them into becoming active resistors of the regime.

By emphasizing the role of professors, this thesis sheds light on the politicization of education, the long-term consequences of authoritarian control over academia, and the resilience of intellectual resistance.

Type

Text

Keywords

Brazil, Dictatorship, University, Resistance, Professor

Publisher

Western Washington University

OCLC Number

1523694443

Subject – LCSH

College teachers--Political activity--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Dictatorship--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Universities and colleges--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Political persecution--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Academic freedom--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Intellectuals--Political activity--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Censorship--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Exiles--Political activity--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century; Human rights--Brazil, Southeast--History--20th century

Geographic Coverage

Brazil--Politics and government--1964-1985

Format

application/pdf

Genre/Form

masters theses

Language

English

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

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