I study and teach Latin American history, with a focus on 20th century Brazil. My book project offers a new understanding of the fall of Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship, as I explore how shifts in elite political culture and dispositions, alongside the already-recognized contributions of social movements and the military itself, contributed decisively to the regime’s weakening and eventual collapse. I also study violence, honor, and masculinity in Brazilian political culture; representations of blackness in Brazilian gay media; and gay Brazilian tourists’ exoticization and commodification of whiteness.

I teach courses on colonial, modern, and contemporary Latin American history; Brazilian history; Latin American military dictatorships; and the global history of sexuality.

♦ Curriculum Vitae

“Direte Ja!” : mass demonstration or polical transformation ? Bryan Pitts interviewed by Jean Hébrard from Mondes Américains, UMR 8168 on Vimeo.