Abstract:
The present article analyses the implementation of affirmative action policies in Brazilian public universities by using the most important concepts that help shed light to understand the main changes in the access to higher education between 2002 and 2012. It emphasizes the re-democratization of the country, the action of the black movement and the controversy about the “racial quotas”. Therefore, concepts such as citizenship, public sphere, rights, recognition, collective action and identity have great heuristic value in the understanding of the changes that have taken place in the access to higher education towards greater diversity and social inclusion. It shows that in a ten year period over 70% of public universities have faced challenges towards their transformation in an institution that effectively incorporates the idea of education as a social right.
Keywords:
Citizenship; Affirmative action; Recognition; Black movement; Public sphere