Moderated by: Professor Sidney Chalhoub, Chair of History Department
In collaboration with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
Gracyelle Costa Ferreira is a professor in the Social Work Department at the Universidade Federal Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University to develop her research and scholarship at Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo.
Her book project focuses on Eugenics and Social Policy in Brazil during the early 20th Century. Doctor Costa Ferreira aims to understand the role of professions like Social Work, Nursing, and Nutrition in the spread of eugenics in Brazil through social policies.
In 2021, she received the “Prêmio Capes Tese” Award for the best doctoral dissertation in Brazil in her field.
Dr. Costa Ferreira also coordinated the working group that founded the Núcleo de Estudos Afro-Brasileiros e Indígenas (Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Studies Center) at Universidade Federal Rio de Janeiro in 2022.