2 research outputs found
Genocide in Northeast Brazil: Dismantling Colonial Legacies of Contemporary State Violence in Salvador
The systematic use of violence by the police a lead me to the city of Salvador, Bahia, a city where 80% of the population is Afro-Brazilian. Using a framework of structural violence I develop a critical understanding of how contemporary manifestations of colonialism impact black people in Salvador, Bahia. Through this research I problematize the idea of the “racial democracy” to understand how black people are experiencing the direct use of violence by the Brazilian state in the form of anti-black genocide. I ask how Black Brazilian activists in Salvador resist and challenge state violence, specifically in the context of genocide; what technologies are local activists using to confront and respond to state violence; how is this violence, executed by the state upon members of Black Brazilian community in Salvador, reflective of a history of colonial violence. I explore how the members of the local activist community understand, articulate, and challenge state violence within the context anti-black genocide historically rooted in the colonial institution of slavery. Using a framework of structural violence, I engage in a postcolonial critique to problematize the historicity of the official narrative, exposing a legacy of violent colonialism, and the erection of a structurally violent state apparatus. Furthermore, I connect criminalization of Black people in Brazil and the United States to a broader history of colonialism in the Americas, with a focus on Brazil. Through analysis I explore the colonial roots of the institutionalization of racism and violence that have resulted in the genocide of black people in Brazil
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Coastal Erosion in Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Finding Sustainable Solutions
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and the Cape Cod Planning Commission have identified coastal erosion, flooding, and shoreline change as the number one risk affecting the heavily populated 1,068 square kilometers that constitute Cape Cod (CZM, 2013 and Cape Cod Commission 2010). This paper investigates natural and anthropogenic causes for coastal erosion and their relationship with established social and economic systems. Sea level rise, climate change, and other anthropogenic changes increase the rate of coastal erosion. The impacts associated with coastal erosion include habitat loss, property loss, infrastructure damage, and beach loss. These impacts will affect economic, ecological, and social systems in Cape Cod. We explore the relationships between socio-ecological systems in Cape Cod. There are structural and non-structural solutions that will help communities in Cape Cod adapt to challenges posed by coastal erosion. Structural solutions include coastal landscaping, beach nourishment, and soft infrastructure. Non-structural solutions include policy, economic compensation, education, and community involvement. In the future, Cape Cod should search for sustainable solutions to the problems associated with coastal erosion