Eduardo, Octavio de Costa, 1919-

Dates

• Existence: 1919    

Biography

Octavio da Costa Eduardo was born on November 17, 1919, in the city of Bebedouro, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He attended primary and high school from 1928 to 1935 in the same city. Eduardo entered the Preparatory Law School of the City of Sao Paulo in 1937, and two years later passed the entrance examination for the School of Law. He attended law school for two years until 1938 when he matriculated to the Escola Livre de Sociologia e Politica. There he received a bachelor's degree in social sciences in 1940.

Eduardo came to Northwestern University in 1941 for two years of graduate study in anthropology. His graduate work was supported by the U.S. Department of State under the Buenos Aires Convention. During the summer of 1942 Eduardo attended Charles S. Johnson's seminar on “Problems of the Negro Youth” at Fisk University. He took his M.A. degree in anthropology from Northwestern in 1943. Eduardo's master's thesis was entitled “West African Religion: Its Nature and Role.” With grant support from the Rockefeller Foundation, he did anthropological field work among Blacks in the state of Maranhao, Brazil, between November, 1943 and June, 1944. Eduardo's research there formed the basis for his doctoral dissertation, “The Negro in Northern Brazil: A Study in Acculturation.” Northwestern awarded him the Ph.D. in 1945.

Found in 1 Collection or Record: