Since 1992
BRASA began with a gathering of some forty scholars and grew into an international home for interdisciplinary Brazilian Studies.
The founding of BRASA
BRASA was formally launched during the 1992 Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in Los Angeles. Participants resolved to create an association that would promote Brazilian Studies and strengthen links among those studying Brazil and Latin America.
The first BRASA International Congress was held in Atlanta in 1994. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, an Executive Committee was elected, and the first Secretariat was established at the University of New Mexico. Jon M. Tolman, Roberto Reis, and Edward A. Riedinger served as the association’s first President, Vice President, and Secretary.
Since then, BRASA has convened congresses across the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom, while expanding its support for research, teaching, scholarly exchange, and new generations in the field.
Past Presidents
Erika Robb Larkins
San Diego State University
2024–2026
Sidney Chalhoub
Harvard University
2022–2024
Marcelo Paixão
University of Texas at Austin
2020–2022
Gladys Mitchell-Walthour
North Carolina Central University
2018–2020
Bryan McCann
Georgetown University
2016–2018
Anthony Pereira
King’s College London
2014–2016
Jan Hoffman French
University of Richmond
2012–2014
Randal Johnson
University of California, Los Angeles
2010–2012
Peggy Sharpe
Florida State University
2008–2010
Kenneth P. Serbin
University of San Diego
2006–2008
Timothy J. Power
University of Oxford
2004–2006
James N. Green
Brown University
2002–2004
Susan Quinlan
University of Georgia
2000–2002
Dain Borges
University of Chicago
1998–2000
Elizabeth Kuznesof
University of Kansas
1996–1998
Jon M. Tolman
University of New Mexico
1994–1996
Executive Directors
Luciano Tosta
University of Kansas
2026–2032
Christopher J. Dunn
Tulane University
2020–2026
James N. Green
Brown University
2015–2020
Mary Arends-Kuenning
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
2011–2015
Marshall Eakin
Vanderbilt University
2004–2011
Jon M. Tolman
University of New Mexico
1994–2004