Heloisa Pait, PhD

Heloisa Pait, a Fulbright alumna, teaches sociology at the São Paulo State University Julio de Mesquita Filho, where she investigates the role of new means of communication in democratic life. In her doctoral dissertation at the New School for Social Research she analyzed how soap opera writers and viewers attempted to make mass communication a meaningful activity. She has written on the reception of international news, on media use by Brazilian youth, and on the disruptive role of the internet in the Brazilian political environment. With her students, Heloisa investigates how various concepts of memory are aided by media uses, the role of media in shaping the need for secrecy and publicity in international relations and the nature of public protests in Brazilian cities as they relate to media environments. She is part of the advisory board of Open Knowledge Foundation Brazil and takes active part of debates on Brazilian current affairs, contributing to specialized blogs and to the press.

Sub-specialties: Current affairs in Brazil, Recent Brazilian history, Higher education in Brazil, Media and Censorship in Brazil, Development and social issues in Brazil