Franciele Rocha de Oliveira’s dissertation focuses on black families during the post-abolition period in southern Brazil

Latin America Studies Association (LASA) awarded its prestigious prize for best dissertation at the LASA Brazil Awards 2024 to the paper titled “Negros laços: trajetórias coletivas das famílias dos nascidos de Ventre Livre no pós-abolição (Santa Maria/RS, 1871-1941)”, authored by Franciele Rocha de Oliveira. Presented in 2023 as part of the Graduate Program in History at UFSM, the dissertation was supervised by professor Luís Augusto Farinatti, with co-advising from professor Carlos Eduardo Coutinho da Costa from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The author has been an active participant in the Group of Studies on Post-abolition (GEPA) since 2016. 

The thesis delves into the experiences of black families during the post-abolition period in southern Brazil, specifically focusing on the lives of 532 children, enslaved daughters, and mothers who were born without assistance in Santa Maria. It analyzes their life conditions and the families they formed between 1890 and 1941, through marriages and other relationships. The research employs methods such as micro-history, serial history, and oral history to trace social relations, patterns, and singularities between slavery and freedom. The dissertation offers original insights into these families and their relatives, as well as inheritance practices, living arrangements, and marriage customs. 

The judging committee for the LASA Brazil Awards 2024 comprised Lua Gill da Cruz from PUC-RIO, David Thompson from Simon Fraser University, and Ana Luiz Morais Soares from Vanderbilt University. 

Original text: https://www.ufsm.br/2024/06/10/tese-defendida-na-ufsm-ganha-premio-da-latin-american-studies-association