C.G. Koonings (1957) has been named Professor by Special Appointment for Brazilian Studies at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The special chair was made available by the Foundation Chair of the International Americanist Congress (Stichting Leerstoel Internationaal Amerikanisten Congres).

As professor by special appointment, Kees Koonings will educate students about Brazilian society, politics and developments within the programme of the interuniversity Centre for the Study and Documentation of Latin America (CEDLA), for which the UvA is the lead organisation, and the Master’s degree programme in International Development Studies at the UvA. He will conduct research on the relationships between development, social exclusion, citizenship and democracy in Brazil. His emphasis will be on social exclusion, urban violence, and public safety in Rio de Janeiro and other large metropolitan areas in Brazil.

Since 1983, Koonings has been working at the Anthropology Department of the Utrecht University, where he has been holding the position of associate professor for the last eight years. He has also been a guest lecturer for CEDLA since 2001, as well as a guest lecturer and researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre and the Fundaçâo Getúilio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, both located in Brazil. In addition, he has worked for the University of Salamanca in Spain, Leiden University, and the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies (NIAS). He has published several books and articles concerning Brazilian and Latin American subjects such as social exclusion, security and violence, militarism and democracy, urban issues, and ethnicity. His previous works can be found in international scientific journals including the Journal of Latin American Studies, Bulletin for Latin American Research, Foreign Affairs en Espanol and European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies.