David Thompson

Where the Sun Rises Square | Stanford University Press Brazil's prison population, estimated at 90,000 in 1990, has exploded to over 650,000, the third highest in the world behind the US and China. Systematically targeting poor, Black communities, Brazil'...

Happy to share the news that Wenner-Gren grant recipient, David C. Thompson has a new book available for pre-order! www.sup.org/books/anthro...

Today, common people from Penha entered the woods on one side of the mountain. The region is called Pedreira, as it is an inactive quarry.

They found 60+ dead bodies. Some with clear marks of torture. A beheaded young male. Most shot in the back and in the head.

The total count is between 121-128+

Where the Sun Rises Square: Introduction | Stanford University Press INTRODUCTIONPrison Is Just a Question of TimeHi my friend, or better yet, my new friend, David. It’s around one in the morning and I can’t sleep because of the heat, but I’ve been thinking about your ...

There's still a few weeks before my book 📚 is officially out, but you can read the intro for free right now! www.sup.org/books/anthro...

More Than Their Work - Offrange In calls to recognize immigrants as people, too often they’re reduced to what they produce and how they support our economy.

Here's me with an op-ed in Offrange about the tendency to value undocumented immigrants only for their labor ambrook.com/offrange/per...

Today!

If you missed my talks this week, I'm giving another one next Friday (17/10) hosted by ANU Anthropology and via Zoom: archanth.cass.anu.edu.au/events/if-i-...

Image shows a screenshot of the conclusion of the linked Senate inquiry submission. This text can be found on page 10. The text is too long for alt text, but here is the first three quarters of the text: Conclusion Over the past decade, Nous Group’s UniForum data has quietly taken on the status of authoritative benchmark for the quality of a range of professional and academic services performed by public universities in Australia and across the world. This authoritative status is performed through scientific-looking graphs and scientific-sounding jargon designed to imply UniForum data is generated through rigorous methods and backed by expert consensus. This performance of authority is significant: it lends UniForum data an air of credibility and facticity that makes acting upon its results irresistible. When one begins to open the black box and examine how UniForum data is actually produced, however, it becomes difficult to justify the degree to which Australian university executives are relying upon it in their decision-making. My analysis is based on a review of publicly available documents, and it is therefore possible that Nous or its clients would point to things not in the public domain that address some of the conceptual and methodological flaws that I have highlighted in UniForum. But the fact that the underlying UniForum data and methodology is not in the public domain is itself one of the key causes for concerns. When the stakes are so high, it cannot be acceptable for Nous Group and its clients to simply tell university staff and governing councils, ‘trust us, these numbers are based on rigorous methods and analysis.’ The lack of rigor, external scrutiny, and transparency in UniForum’s underlying data and methodology would be a cause for concern in any public institution, but it is especially concerning in the context of universities where rigorous, transparent, and accountable knowledge production is a core part of what we do. ...

Private consultants are taking control of how public universities are evaluated and run.

My submission to the Senate university governance inquiry raises concerns about the impact of Nous Group and their dodgy UniForum data on our universities.

www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStor...

A thread

If you missed my talks this week, I'm giving another one next Friday (17/10) hosted by ANU Anthropology and via Zoom: archanth.cass.anu.edu.au/events/if-i-...

Starting soon! (5pm Sydney)

Me opening a box filled with books. By me! That I wrote!

Book cover: ‘where the sun rises square: Mass incarceration and the binds of reform in Brazil’

It’s real!

I've created a calculator that gives you the right answer 80% of the time and I believe it will change the world

Tomorrow!

They're both hybrid events, so you can join either (or both!) via Zoom, just check the registration details.

Then the next day, 09/10, at my alma mater, Sydney University, as part of the Sydney University Research Community for Latin America: whatson.sydney.edu.au/event/93d345...

Public lecture: "If I Were His Mother": Race, Kinship and Redemption in Brazil's Prisons". Dr David Thompson. 8 October, 1:15-2:30pm, Room SR 165 and Zoom. Contact: Randi.Irwin@newcastle.edu.au with any questions or to receive a Zoom link by email.

I'm giving two talks next week about gender, race and redemption in Brazil's prisons. First up, 08/10 at the University Newcastle:

Screenshot from Sumud fleet tracker.

This is a remarkable moment.

“A country in denial. Anyway, I was born…” — Assata Shakur 🤎

Job: Assistant Professor of Latin American Literary & Cultural Studies, University of Notre Dame. Specialism in Afro Latin America (includes Brazil ). NB "Specialists of Brazil will teach in Spanish, English & Portuguese as needed." Closes 1 November 2025. Full info: joblist.mla.org/job/2000392/...

Brazilians: www.amazon.com.br/Where-Sun-Ri...

Where the Sun Rises Square by David C. Thompson, Paperback, 9781503644564 | Buy online at The Nile Buy Where the Sun Rises Square by David C. Thompson, Paperback, 9781503644564 online at The Nile. Fast delivery with free 30 Day Returns across Australia.

Australians: www.thenile.com.au/books/david-...

Where the Sun Rises Square: Mass Incarceration and the Binds of Reform in Brazil Mass Incarceration and the Binds of Reform in Brazil

Americans, you can pre-order here: bookshop.org/p/books/where-the-sun-rises-square-mass-incarceration-and-the-binds-of-reform-in-brazil-david-c-thompson/124b5129b069104e?ean=9781503644564&next=t

Where the Sun Rises Square | Stanford University Press Brazil's prison population, estimated at 90,000 in 1990, has exploded to over 650,000, the third highest in the world behind the US and China. Systematically targeting poor, Black communities, Brazil'...

My book is almost out! This is an ethnography of incarceration, it's my attempt to tell a different story about Brazil's prisons and to understand the relationship between punishment and hope. It's out November 25, but available to preorder now. www.sup.org/books/anthro...

Some of this stuff is just white pundits begging: "please don't shoot me too?"

Depressing news. Meanjin hardly posed a significant call on the University of Melbourne's finances: its annual budget was no more than a third of the VC's salary. To shut it down diminishes the University of Melbourne and leaves a large hole in Australia's already threadbare cultural landscape

I know there's a lot happening today, but this is sneaking in under the radar. This proposed new rule would absolutely crush foreign PhD students, potentially making it impossible for them to enroll with any certainty of their ability to finish www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

Assistant Professor - Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure stream position in Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures. The appointment wi...

Assistant Professor - Knowledge Systems, Infrastructures, Communities, and Cultures. Another job at the University of Toronto Faculty of Information.

www.ischools.org/post/assista...

Five travel awards for scholars from low & middle income countries are available for this years ASAA/NZ #anthropology Conference in Whāingaroa, Raglan! www.asaanz.org/conference Priority will be given to applicants from #Oceania and #SoutheastAsia

Where the Sun Rises Square | Stanford University Press Brazil's prison population, estimated at 90,000 in 1990, has exploded to over 650,000, the third highest in the world behind the US and China. Systematically targeting poor, Black communities, Brazil'...

I wrote a book! Coming soon… www.sup.org/books/anthro...

Rümeysa Öztürk describes the library in the prison where she was held for 45 days for co-authoring an op-ed

New Special Issue: Anthropologies of Capture. Guest edited by Ana Chiritoiu and @chakadojani.bsky.social, with contributions by Judith Scheele, Sinan Jappan, Qing Shen, Sam Rumé, and @acorsin.bsky.social out with @socialanalysis.bsky.social www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journal...