Leila Lehnen is the Chair of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University. Her work uses literature to explore Brazilian society, culture, and history. As she she sees it, literature doesn’t just reflect a country's culture and politics -- it shapes it, too.

On this episode of Brazil Unfiltered, Jim and Leila discuss what her work has taught her about contemporary Brazil, and how literature can help us expand our imagination of the politically possible. They also discuss politics in Brazil today, and the changing attitudes towards President Bolsonaro.

To learn more about Leila Lehnen's book 'Citizenship and Crisis in Contmeporary Brazil', follow this link: [https://www.amazon.com/Citizenship-Crisis-Contemporary-Brazilian-Literature/dp/1349447218/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=]