‘Images of Whiteness: The Presence of Absence’ – a Talk by Eminent Brazilian Historian Lilia Moritz Schwarcz
Professor Claire Williams (left) and Professor Lilia Moritz Schwarcz in the Main Hall, Taylorian Institute
“On Monday 19 January, students and staff from across the University came to hear renowned Brazilian historian and anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz open the university’s Brazil Week event by discussing the content and context of her 2024 study Imagens da branquitude: A presença da aucência (‘Images of Whiteness: The Presence of Absence). Schwarcz’s thought-provoking presentation, which included an interactive Q&A session, allowed members of the Portuguese Sub-Faculty and wider university community to actively engage with world-leading research in Brazilian cultural studies and broaden their own knowledge of race relations in contemporary Brazilian art and literature. Students called the occasion a “rare opportunity” to interact with a leading scholar in their field and develop an understanding of how broader academic themes may relate to their own work and personal interests. We would like to express our gratitude to Lilia Moritz Schwarcz for her attendance and fascinating insights and look forward to exploring the research she outlined further as Brazil Week continues.”
(Jack Hutchinson, Portuguese and Spanish, Year 4)
“It was an absolute pleasure to receive a visit from Lilia Schwarcz, a multi-talented and renowned Brazilian academic, on the 19th of January at the Taylor Institution Library. Her talk 'Images of Whiteness: The Presence of Absence' was a fascinating insight into how the policy of 'branquitude', or whitening, has influenced Brazilian visual art and culture on a wider societal level from the colonial period to the present day. Lilia questioned the positioning of the white race as neutral and instead asked her audience (us!) to interrogate long-standing dichotomies through analysis of visual art and other cultural manifestations. Race fundamentally underpins both Brazilian history and society and informs much of the literature from the country that we study at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, making for an enriching and complex talk. Foi um prazer, obrigada Lilia!”
(Georgia Hall, Portuguese and Spanish, Y4)
This event was kindly sponsored by the British Council and the Guimarães Rosa Institute and is part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025-26.
NB The Programme for the rest of Brazil Week 2026 will be circulated imminently!