Fernanda Vasconcelos Dias

Research Discipline/Bio

Fernanda Vasconcelos Dias is a Ph.D. candidate in Anthropology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her ethnographic research explores how race, immigration, culture, and learning shape the everyday lives of Black Brazilian immigrants in the New York area. She focuses on Afro-Brazilian cultural practices such as samba reggae and dance, examining how these spaces foster community, labor, and cross-cultural dialogue among racially diverse groups. Fernanda worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at Lehman College (CUNY) and has served as Educational Manager at SQA Education, where she led curriculum development for ESL programs. She holds master’s degrees from Teachers College, UMass Dartmouth, and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). She is also a co-founder of Kilomba Collective, the first Black Brazilian women’s collective in the U.S., and a coordinating member of the Paulo Freire Initiative at Columbia University.

Educational Background

M.Phil, Anthropology and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University (2024)
M.A., Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, UMass Dartmouth (2017)
M.Ed., Education and Social Inclusion, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil (2011)
B.A., Elementary Education, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil (2008)

Honors/Awards

Doctoral Fellow, CAPES Foundation, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Ministry of Education (MEC), Brazil (2018-22)
UMASS Dartmouth Graduate Fellow, University of Massachusetts (2016-17)
CNPq Fellow, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Ministry of Science and Technology, Brazil (2010-11)
CAPES Fellow, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, MEC, Brazil (2009)

Publications/Exhibitions

Dias, F. V., Kulick, R., & Cox, A. (2023). NorthEast grows: Dismantling narratives of assumed mutuality in a community-engaged permaculture partnership. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 27(3), 81–98.
Dias, F. V. (2019). A pedagogia crítica nos Estados Unidos: Possibilidades para pensar a prática educativa crítica e popular [Critical pedagogy in the United States: Possibilities for considering critical and popular educational practice]. In S. M. Peres & M. Z. Alves (Eds.), Educação popular e letramentos (pp. 19–42). Paco.
Dias, F. V., Alves, A., & Laborne, A. P. (2015). EJA, juventude negra e formação de professores [Youth and adult education, Black youth, and teacher training]. Presença Pedagógica, 21(129), 26–32.
Dias, F. V., & Dayrell, J. (2012). “Sem querer você mostra seu preconceito!”: As sutilezas das relações raciais e suas repercussões no cotidiano escolar de jovens estudantes do ensino médio [“Inadvertently, you show your prejudice!” The subtleties of race relations and its repercussions in the school daily life of young high school students]. In Sujeitos sociais, processos educativos e enfrentamento da exclusão (pp. 57–76). Mazza Edições.
Dias, F. V., Carmo, H. C. do, Oliveira, H., Cruz, N., Gonzaga, Y., & Silva, J. (2011). Sujeitos de mudanças e mudanças de sujeitos: As especificidades do público da educação de jovens e adultos [Subjects of changes and the changes of subjects: The specificities of the audience in youth and adult education]. In L. Soares (Ed.), Educação de jovens e adultos: O que dizem as pesquisas (pp. 49–82). Autêntica Editora.
Dias, F. V., Dayrell, J., Carmo, H. C. do, & Nonato, B. F. (2009). Juventude e escola [Youth and school]. In M. Sposito (Ed.), O estado da arte sobre juventude na pós-graduação brasileira: Educação, ciências sociais e serviço social (1999–2006) (pp. 57–126). Argumentum Editora.

Last Updated: Jun 2, 2025