Write a 4-5 page essay that answers ALL of the following questions about the book.

1)Weinstein’s book deals with the construction over time of racialized categories. In the introductory paragraph, identify Weinstein’s thesis about how Paulista’s in the 20th century constructed their own identity as a part of the Brazilian nation. (You will find this somewhere in pages 1-6.

2)In the body of the essay, you should draw on all of the following chapters: 2, 6, and 7. Answer the following questions.

-How did the Constitutionalist Campaign in the early 1930s contribute to the construction of a Paulista identity? What was that identity? (chapter 2)

-What were the dominant (hegemonic) messages that the organizers of the Centenário (400th anniversary of the founding of São Paulo) wanted to convey about their city and state? Give examples.

-What versions of São Paulo’s history were told during the Centenário? Who was excluded from the history?

3)Using the Epilogue and Conclusion, answer the following question: What is an example of a political result (as shown by Weinstein) of the “Paulista identity” she describes?

This is a complex and theoretically and methodologically rich book. Some of the discussions that she engages are aimed at specialists and professional historians so don’t get bogged down if you don’t understand something. The questions above should help you navigate through the book, and they already suggest topic sentences. Don’t write narrative passages, but, instead, provide analysis. You are welcome to discuss any of this with me during office hours if anything is unclear. Please follow the same writing guidelines that I gave for the last paper assignment.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *