Misturando-se nas Universidades Brasileiras: Analisando Processos de Globalização em Políticas de ação Afirmativa

In the article, race- and class-based affirmative action policies for higher education serve as a case study for examining globalization discourses and processes in the Brazilian context. The objective of the article is to show how globalization processes in the educational arena can be better understood when examined for a blend of diverse ideological paradigms. An historical and contemporary discussion of the Brazilian higher education context in conjunction with content analysis of government policy texts reveals a negotiation of extra-national interests and national contextual factors and concerns that results in a blending or coexistence of so-called alternative and hegemonic ideologies and ideas into national education reform. The findings also suggest that affirmative action resituates higher education in a global era in relation to, not in spite of, Brazil's unique historical, social, and economic context.