Ben

Profile

I have been at the University of Leeds since 2016, receiving a first class degree in International Relations and Portuguese. My undergraduate dissertation focused on the interaction between anthropogenic climate change and politics, specifically, by examining how the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) can deal with the unprecedented risks of climate change. My favourite modules during my undergraduate study included:

SPPO3700 - Sao Paulo, Lisboa, Maputo: Urban Realities and Representations in the Portuguese-speaking world

SPPO2410 - Culture and Society in the Portuguese-speaking world

PIED3261 - Violence and Reconciliation in Africa

PIED3504 - Critically Analysing the Responsibility to Protect

I have complete fluency in written and spoken Portuguese having spent time living in southern Portugal, volunteering at the Rio Olympic games in Brazil (2016) and completing a ten-month work placement in Lisbon as part of my university year abroad (2018-19). 

In my spare time I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to travel extensively throughout North and South America, South-East Asia and all over Europe.

Research interests

My current MAR seeks to expand on my interdisciplinary interests by delving into the fields of Political Ecology and Digital Humanities. I am currently examining the anti-indigenous rhetoric of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. 

I will be doing a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of Bolsonaro’s statements and examining how they are leading to the marginalization of indigenous people in Brazil. There is no doubt that the indigeous people of Brazil have faced persecution throughout their history, but the arrival of Bolsonaro has marked an unprecedented turn for the worse. Since taking office on January 1st 2019, Jair Bolsonaro has been establishing a context of incitement and violence towards the indigenous people of Brazil and my thesis sets out to document and analyse the consequences of such behaviour. 

Qualifications

• BA International Relations and Portuguese
• MAR