Description:
Asking what it means to be quilombola (descendants of African slaves) in the twenty-first century, Kenny illustrates how heritage and identity do not simply exist, but are continually being constructed to reflect particular historical circumstances.
Brief description:
Mary Lorena Kenny is Professor of Anthropology at Eastern Connecticut State University. She is the author of Hidden Heads of Households: Child Labor in Urban Northeast Brazil (2007).
Review Quotes: "Grappling with fundamental anthropological questions but written for general readers, this is a key book for students, researchers, and instructors working on race, ethnicity, identity politics, heritage, and memory in Latin America. Deeply Rooted in the Present is a welcome and exciting addition to the rapidly growing field of heritage studies."--Maria Fernanda Escallón, University of Oregon
"Kenny provides a rich exploration of the quilombo movement, which has transformed the politics of race, land, and culture throughout Brazil. Throughout, Kenny illuminates the anthropology of heritage, racism, and the making and remaking of culture and identity, resulting in an ideal book for many college courses, not just those focused on Brazil."--Sean Mitchell, Rutgers University
"The book engages, in a theoretically sophisticated manner, the thorny complex of heritage and memory in a society still fraught with the legacies of slavery and racism."--Allan C. Dawson, Drew University