Anne G. Hanley

Current Research

My new book project, "1872: Standardizing the Brazilian Nation," examines two major events in Brazil in 1872: the conduct of the first national census and the adoption of the metric system of weights and measures. These events aimed to integrate the domestic economy of Brazil, a vast nation, by standardizing measurements and understanding demographics, thus facilitating long-distance exchange and economic planning. Supported by an NEH Summer Stipend, this project delves into the history of Brazil's domestic economy, focusing on government initiatives that significantly impacted livelihoods and living standards.

Major Publications

Books

• The Public Good and the Brazilian State: Municipal Finance and the Provision of Public Services in São Paulo, Brazil 1822-1930 . University of Chicago Press, March 2018. Honorable mention, Best Book in the Social Sciences, the Brazil Section of the Latin American Studies Association. Honorable mention, Best Book on Brazilian History, Conference on Latin American History. Data set is publicly available.
• Native Capital: Financial Institutions and Economic Development in São Paulo, Brazil, 1850-1920 . Stanford University Press, 2005.

Articles/Chapters

• “ Fiscalidade no Brasil Império: a manutenção de privilégios e o legado da desigualdade .” With Dr. Luciana Suarez Galvão. Revista USP n. 132 (Jan-March 2022).
• “ Men of Science and Standards: The Metric System in Nineteenth-Century Brazil .” Business History Review, Vol. 96, No. 1 (2022).
• "Historia empresarial de Brasil: de la familia empresaria a los grupos económicos diversificados" in Historia empresarial en América Latina: temas, debates y problemas, edited by Marcelo Bucheli and Andrea Lluch. Lima: Universidade de los Andes Press, 2021.
• "Municipal Plenty, Municipal Poverty, and Brazilian Economic Development, 1836-1850" With Luciana Suarez Lopes. Latin American Research Review, 52, no. 2 (June 2017).

Teaching Interests

I enjoy teaching courses on modern Latin America, emphasizing the region’s economic, political, and social development. I regularly teach Modern Latin America, a survey covering independence to the present, and History of Brazil, which spans Brazilian history from the early encounters between Amerindians, Europeans, and Africans to modern-day challenges. My courses explore inequality, urban life, and the region’s history through innovative lenses, including film and thematic studies.

Courses Taught

• HIST 381 Colonial Latin America
• HIST 382 Modern Latin America
• HIST 383 Latin America Through Film
• HIST 395 Historical Methods
• HIST 484 History of Brazil
• HIST 486 Inequality in Latin America
• HIST 487 The Latin American City
• HIST 495 Senior Thesis
• HIST 620 Capitalism
• HIST 620 The City in History

Interdisciplinary Affiliations

• Center for Latino and Latin American Studies
• Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies
• School for Public and Global Affairs