Sonia E. Alvarez

My main areas of specialization are social movements and protest politics, comparative and transnational feminisms, and Latin American politics and cultures, with a focus on Brazil and the Southern Cone. My recent (co-edited) books include Quem São as Mulheres das Políticas para as Mulheres no Brazil? Vol. I, O Feminismo Estatal Participativo Brasileiro; Vol. II, Expressões Femnistas nas Conferências Nacionais de Políticas para as Mulheres​ (2018); Beyond Civil Society: Activism, Participation, and Protest in Latin America (2017); Translocalities/Translocalidades: Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas (2014); and a two-part special issue of the journal Meridians on "Afro-descendant Feminisms in Latin America" (2016). I have published numerous journal articles and book chapters, many written collaboratively, and in Portuguese and Spanish, as well as English, on topics including movements, feminist politics, NGOs, civil society, race and racism, transnational activism, and democratization.

I am a feminist, anti-racist and social justice intellectual-activist who has participated in Latina/women of color feminist movements in the US, as well as solidarity movements, alter-globablization organizing, and other transnational activist efforts. Since the 1980s, I have  been connected with feminist and women’s movements in Brazil, Latin America, and globally, while conducting research on and with them. My current work focuses on feminist protest, activist assemblages, and the (mis)encounters of feminism and anti-racism in Brazil. With Uof T Professor Martha Balaguera, I co-coordinate an international research-action network on feminisms and the global politics of protest in the 21st Century, the "Colectiva Protesta."

I am a past president of the Latin American Studies Association and former Director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at UMass Amherst.

• Alvarez Receives Fulbright to Explore "Sidestreaming" Feminism in Brazil
• Alvarez, Cruikshank Receive Mellon LASA Seminars Initiative Award

Mellon-LASA Seminar Award, “On Protest: Latin America in Comparative and Transnational Perspective,” with Barbara Cruikshank and Charles R. Hale, 2014.

Fulbright Scholar Award, Brazil, February-May 2014.

“Interrogating the Civil Society Agenda: Social Movements, Civic Participation, and Democratic Innovation,” Ford Foundation, project director and co-principal investigator and 2007 Research Leadership in Action Grant, Office of the Vice Provost for Research, UMass-Amherst.

BOOKS

Translocalities/Translocalidades: Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas, co-edited with Claudia de Lima Costa, Verónica Feliu, Rebecca Hester, Norma Klahn, and Millie Thayer, with the assistance of Cruz C. Bueno.   Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014. 

Cultures of Politics/Politics of Cultures: Re-visioning Latin American Social Movements, co-edited with Evelina Dagnino and Arturo Escobar. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

The Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy, and Democracy, co-edited with Arturo Escobar. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992.

Engendering Democracy in Brazil: Women's Movements in Transition Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990.

EDITED ISSUES OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALS

Guest co-editor, “Política Feminista de Tradução nas Américas Latinas” [Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas], with Claudia de Lima Costa.  Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 17, No. 3, 2009.

Editor, LASA Forum, six issues, Winter 2005-Spring 2006.

Guest co-editor, “Dossiê Fórum Social Mundial e Feminismos [World Social Forum and Feminisms Dossier],” with Nalu Faria and Miriam Nobre. Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 11, No. 2, 2003.

Guest co-editor, “Dossiê Advocacy Feminista [Feminist Advocacy Dossier],” with Marlene Libardoni and Vera Soares.Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 8, No. 2, 2000.

ARTICLES IN REFEREED JOURNALS

“Dislocating the Sign: Towards a Translocal Feminist Politics of Translation,” with Claudia de Lima Costa (lead author). Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society, fall 2014.

“Feminismos e Antirracismo: Entraves e Intersecções.  Uma Entrevista com a Ministra Luiza Bairros, Ministra da Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (Seppir)”

 [Feminisms and Anti-racism: Obstacles and Intersections: An Interview with Luiza Bairros, Minister for the Secretariat of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality, Brazil].  Revista Estudos Feministas 20, 3 (Sept./Dec. 2012).

“Re-Visioning Latin American Studies,” with Arturo Arias and Charles R. Hale.  Cultural Anthropology, 26, 2 (May 2011): 225-246.

“Translocalidades: Por uma política feminista da tradução” [Translocalities: Towards a Feminist Politics of Translation], with Claudia de Lima Costa.  Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 17, No. 3, 2009.

“Constituindo uma Política Feminista Translocal de Tradução ” [Enacting a Translocal Feminist Politics of Translation],Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 17, No. 3, 2009.

“Beyond NGOization? Reflections on Latin America.”  Development 52, 2.  June 2009.

“Introdução: Um Outro Mundo [Também Feminista...] É Possível: Construindo Espaços Transnacionais e Alternativas Globais desde os Movimentos” [Introduction: Another World (also Feminist...) is Possible:  Movements Building Transnational Spaces and Global Alternatives],” Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 11, No. 2, 2003.

“Encountering Latin American and Caribbean Feminisms,” Lead/coordinating author in collaborative article with Elisabeth Jay Friedman, Ericka Beckman, Maylei Blackwell, Norma Chinchilla, Nathalie Lebon, Marysa Navarro, and Marcela Ríos-Tobar.  Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society Vol. 28, No. 2 (Winter 2003).

“Os Movimentos Sociais, a Sociedade Civil e o 'Terceiro Setor' na América Latina: Reflexões Teóricas e Novas Perspectivas [Social Movements, Civil Society, and the 'Third Sector' in Latin America: Theoretical Reflections and New Perspectives],” with Evelina Dagnino.  Primeira Versão (Brazil), Unicamp-IFCH.  October 2001.

“Introdução: Dossiê Advocacy Feminista [Introduction: Feminist Advocacy Dossier],” with Marlene Libardoni and Vera Soares. Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), Vol. 8, No. 2, 2000.

“Translating the Global: Effects of Transnational Organizing on Latin American Feminist Discourses and Practices.”Meridians: A Journal of Feminisms, Race, Transnationalism, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2000.

“En Qué Estado está el Feminismo? Reflexiones Teóricas y Perspectivas Comparativas [What State Is Feminism In? Theoretical Reflections and Comparative Perspectives].” Estudios Latinoamericanos (México), vol. 12, 1999-2000.

“Advocating Feminism: The Latin American Feminist NGO 'Boom'.” International Feminist Journal of Politics, Vol. 1, No. 2, 1999.

“Feminismos Latinoamericanos [Latin American Feminisms].” Revista Estudos Feministas (Brazil), vol. 6, no. 2, 1998.

“Articulación y Transnacionalización de los Feminismos Latinoamericanos [The Articulation and Transnationalization of Latin American Feminisms].” Debate Feminista (México), Año 8, vol. 15, April 1997. 

“Feminisms in Latin America: from Bogota to San Bernardo,” with Nancy Saporta Sternbach, Patricia Chuchryk, and Marysa Navarro, Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 17, no. 2, Dec.1992-Feb. 1993.

“Women's Participation in the Brazilian 'People's Church': A Critical Appraisal,” Feminist Studies, vol. 16, no. 1, Summer 1990.

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

“Ambivalent Engagements, Paradoxical Effects: Latin American Feminist and Women’s Movements and/in/against Development.”  In Sous le développement, le genre, edited by Isabelle Guérin, Hélène Guétat, and Christine Verschuur.  Paris: IRD, 2014.

Translation: Palgrave, forthcoming.

“Enacting a Feminist Politics of Translation.”  In Translocalities/Translocalidades: Feminist Politics of Translation in the Latin/a Américas, edited by Sonia E. Alvarez, Claudia de Lima Costa, Verónica Feliu, Rebecca Hester, Norma Klahn, and Millie Thayer, with the assistance of Cruz C. Bueno.  Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

“Beyond the NGO Boom? Reflections from Latin America.”  In Theorizing NGOs: Feminist Struggles, States and Neoliberalism, edited by Victoria Bernal and Inderpal Grewal.  Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2014.

“Globalised Localisms: The Travels and Translations of the World Social Forum Process”.  World Social Forum: Critical Explorations, edited by Jai Sen and Peter Waterman.  Volume 3–Challenging Empires series.  New Delhi : OpenWord Books, 2013.

“Los Viajes de los Feminismos hacia Otros Movimientos Sociales,” with Equipo ‘Sidestreaming Feminisms’.  In Movimientos Sociales: Entre la Crisis y Otros Saberes, edited by Gina Vargas, Raphael Hoetmer, and Mar Quintanilla.  Lima: Programa Democracia y Transformación Global; Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2011.

“Disciplinamento ou radicalização dos feminismos no século XXI:  Experiências Latino-americana” [Disciplining or Radicalization of Feminisms in the 21st Century: Latin American Experiences]. In Actas Congresso Feminista 2008, edited by Maria José Magalhães.  Lisbon, Portugal, 2010.

“Repensando la Dimensión Política y Cultural desde los Movimientos Sociales Latinoamericanos: Algunas Aproximaciones Teóricas” [Rethinking the Cultural and the Poltical in Latin American Social Movements: Some Theoretical Reflections].  InRepensar la Política desde América Latina: Cultura, Estado y Movimientos Sociales, edited by Raphael Hoetmer.  Lima: Programa Democracia y Transformación Global; Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 2009.

“Afterword: The Politics of Place, the Place of Politics.”  In Women and the Politics of Place, edited by Wendy Harcourt and Arturo Escobar.  London: Kumarian Press, 2005. 

“Introduction: The Cultural and the Political in Latin American Social Movements,” with Evelina Dagnino and Arturo Escobar. In Cultures of Politics/Politics of Cultures: Re-visioning Latin American Social Movements, edited by Sonia E. Alvarez, Evelina Dagnino and Arturo Escobar. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

“Latin American Feminisms 'Go Global': Trends of the 1990s, Challenges for the New Millennium.” In Cultures of Politics/Politics of Cultures: Re-visioning Latin American Social Movements, edited by Sonia E. Alvarez, Evelina Dagnino and Arturo Escobar. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998.

“Reweaving the Fabric of Collective Action: Social Movements and Challenges to 'Actually Existing Democracy' in Brazil.” In Between Resistance and Revolution: Cultural Politics and Social Protest, edited by Richard Fox and Orin Starn. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997.

“Para uma 'Coreografia' Democrática: Cultura, Política e Cidadania [Towards a Democratic Coreography: Culture, Politics and Citizenship].” In Trabalho, Cultura e Cidadania: Um Balanço da História Social Brasileira, edited by Angela M. C. Araújo. São Paulo: Scritta, 1997.

“'Redrawing' the Parameters of Gender Struggle: Concluding Reflections.” In Emergences: Latin American: Women's Struggles for a Livelihood, edited by John Freidman, Rebecca Abers and Lilian Autler. Los Angeles: Center for Latin American Studies, 1996.

“The Trans/formation of Feminism(s) and Gender Politics in Democratizing Brazil.” In The Women's Movement in Latin America: Participation and Democracy, edited by Jane S. Jaquette. Revised, updated 2nd edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994.

“'Deepening Democracy'“: Social Movement Networks, Constitutional Reform, and Radical Urban Regimes in Brazil.” InMobilizing the Community: Local Politics in the Era of the Global City, edited by Robert Fischer and Joseph Kling. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1993.

“Introduction: Theory and Protest in Latin America Today,” with Arturo Escobar. In The Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy, and Democracy, edited by Arturo Escobar and Sonia E. Alvarez. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992.

“Conclusion-Social Movements in Contemporary Latin America: Theoretical and Political Horizons of Change,” with Arturo Escobar. In The Making of Social Movements in Latin America: Identity, Strategy and Democracy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1992.

“Contradictions of a 'Women's Space' within a Male-Dominant State: The Political Role of the Commissions on the Status of Women in Brazil.” In Women, International Development, and Politics: The Bureaucratic Mire, edited by Kathleen Staudt. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990; second edition, 1997.

“Women's Movements and Gender Politics in the Brazilian Transition.” In The Women's Movement in Latin America: Feminism and the Transition to Democracy, edited by Jane Jaquette. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1989.

“Politicizing Gender and Engendering Democracy.” In Democratizing Brazil, edited by Alfred Stepan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Find below the links to my most recent syllabi:

• POLISCI 392AP Activism, Participation and Protest (Fall'17)​
• POLISCI 795E Activism, Participation and Protest (Fall'16)
• POLISCI 777 Latin American Politics (Fall'15)
• POLISCI 340 Latin American Politics (Summer'16)
• POLISCI 795F Feminist Politics (Summer'18)