Brazilian universities and graduate programmes in Geography: Institutional developments and political challenges

Abstract

AbstractThis piece examines the spread of Geography graduate programmes in Brazil, demonstrating how political contexts affect geographical research and teaching. Four periods are identified, considering changes in Brazilian politics and our own experience as students and professors at public universities. The creation of the first Geography graduate programmes during the dictatorship in the 1970s, the introduction of neoliberal policies during the 1990s, the expansion of Brazilian universities during the 2000s, and the contemporary challenges and threats to public universities characterised different periods that influenced the practices of making Geography in Brazil. Considering the territorial diffusion and the social composition of graduate programmes in Geography during different periods, we would like to emphasise the importance of an accessible, public, and inclusive university in the Global South.