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ABSTRACT
Today, young adults from lower-income backgrounds are pursuing educational trajectories that would have been distant dreams for their parents. In many Global South countries, this expansion has followed a neoliberal logic in which private universities purport to provide students skills and increased earning capacity, and employers the necessary human capital to compete in global markets. This article examines these processes in Brazil, where federal policies have contributed to a dramatic growth in private, for-profit higher education in recent years. Building on ethnographic research in São Paulo’s expansive peripheries, our analysis examines three inter-related themes: higher education and life aspirations; intersectional identity construction; and political/community engagements. We argue that while neoliberal ideologies and policies are a key component of Brazilian higher education, many first-generation college students actively – and critically – challenge everyday oppressions and create new life possibilities in the context of enduring inequalities.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported through a Faculty Enhancement Grant from Portland State University and a National Science Foundation, Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Cultural Anthropology Program, Collaborative Research Grant (‘Social Mobility, Poverty Reduction, and Democracy in an Emerging Middle Class,’ award number 1534621). We would like to thank our NSF Projeto MOVI research team for all of their dedication, insights and passion in exploring the diverse life trajectories of Zona Sul residents. We would also like to thank the leadership team at the Universidade Anhanguera – Campo Limpo Center for opening their doors to our research on first-generation college students and socioeconomic mobility, and in particular, the enormous contribution of Professor Andrea Arruda. Besides serving as our fieldwork facilitator, she helped our project became a transformative process for the students at the University and the community more generally. And finally we would like to thank the interviewees for sharing their lives, critiques, and dreams – without them, this article would not exist.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.