Antonio José Bacelar da Silva

Antonio José Bacelar da Silva’s primary research revolves around language, race, and anti-racism. He earned his Ph.D. in Linguistic and Sociocultural Anthropology from the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona in December 2012. He also holds an MA in Second Language Studies from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.

Silva has studied several aspects of Afro-Brazilian antiracist socialization and anti-racist activism, with a particular interest in Afro-Brazilian’s continued exploration of blackness and political positionality in the context of mobilizations for racial justice in Brazil. He is expanding his research agenda into the Afro-Colombian struggles for peace and inclusion in the region of Montes de María, near the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region. Silva’s teaching and research interests also include social theory, qualitative research methods, language and culture, identity (race, gender, class), language ideology and inequality.

Silva is a former recipient of Fulbright, Wenner-Gren, and CAPES-Brazil. He has earned several awards, including the 2023 Sérgio Buarque de Holanda Prize from the Latin American Studies Association-Brazil Section for the best book in the social sciences for his book Between Brown and Black: Anti-Racist Activism in Brazil (2022, Rutgers University Press); Early Career Scholars Award, University of Arizona Provost, and Upper Division Teaching Award, College of Social and Behavior Sciences, University of Arizona.

In addition to his position in the Center for Latin American Studies, Silva is affiliate faculty in the School of Anthropology, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and Food Studies Program at the University of Arizona. Since 2018, Silva has served on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council for the UArizona’sCollege of Social and Behavioral Sciences and was co-chair of the council in 2022-2023.