Provisional PhD Thesis Title: The Quest for Energy El Dorado: Towards a Panamazonian History of Oil Development (1950s-70s)
PhD supervisor & co-supervisor: Amalia Ribi-Forclaz and Antoine Acker
My goal is to investigate patterns of extraction constructed alongside oil development projects in the Amazon between the decades of 1950 and 1970. In this period, Latin American countries nationalized natural resources and created national oil companies as an effort to jointly promote national development and energy transition. This movement accelerated the integration of the Amazon both into national bodies and global capitalism as a resource provider. By looking at pioneer oil infrastructure and urbanization projects in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru, I intend to narrate a multi-sited Panamazonian history of regional development that stretches beyond single national frameworks.
I am a Brazilian PhD candidate in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. My previous academic training was conducted at Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro - Brazil) and Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (Porto Alegre - Brazil). Beyond academia, I have already worked with social protection and public health with NGOs and the public sector. I am particularly interested in the intersection of history and policymaking.