The Greek myth of Medea has been widely used in Latin America by artists and writers as a figure of disruption of social order and of questioning the status quo. In the last century, five Brazilian writers have based their works on Euripides’ Medea. This lecture will discuss Agostinho Olavo’s use of the myth in the play Além do Rio: Medeia (Beyond the River: Medea). Of special interest will be the play’s use of the myth as a tool to interrogate notions of racial spaces and hierarchies in Brazil, especially in relation to the myth of democracy, that have shaped racial policies in the last decades.

José de Paiva dos Santos is an associate professor at the College of Letters at Federal University of Minas Gerais, located in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. He researches Caribbean, Brazilian, and African American literature, focusing on the intersections of race, religion, national identity, and citizenship.

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