brazilian studies association

What brazilian studies association does

Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA) is a private, non-profit academic association incorporated in Louisiana, USA, and headquartered administratively at Tulane University in New Orleans. Founded in 1992 during the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Congress, BRASA supports and promotes Brazilian studies internationally, with a particular emphasis on the humanities and social sciences. Its core offerings consist of a biennial international congress (currently in its eighteenth iteration, held at rotating locations including the US, Brazil, and Europe), a tiered individual membership program bundled with congress registration, and four academic recognition programs: the Roberto Reis Book Award, the Best Article Prize (Humanities and Social Sciences categories), the Jon M. Tolman Awards for graduate student travel, and the Brazilian Initiation Scholarship ($3,000) for exploratory research trips.

BRASA generates revenue exclusively via membership fees and congress-related charges, with rates differentiated by country of salary residence (US/Canada/Europe vs. Brazil or developing countries). Faculty rates range from $50 to $250, post-doc/independent scholars from $30 to $150, and graduate students from $0 to $100. Membership is a prerequisite for congress participation, creating a bundled recurring-revenue structure on a two-year cycle. The association operates with a small Secretariat (Executive Director and Administrative Director based at Tulane) and is governed by an elected Executive Committee comprising senior faculty from US and Brazilian universities.

The organization is event-driven and relationship-driven rather than technology-driven, with marketing and communications executed through its website (brasa.org), the BRASA DIGEST newsletter, and the LASA-hosted membership portal (brasa.lasaweb.org). BRASA holds no patents, builds no software products, and discloses no AI or data capabilities. Its strategic value derives from 30+ years of brand equity, an established network of international scholars, and a documented congress and awards archive that competitors would require decades to replicate.

Name

brazilian studies association

Legal name

Brazilian Studies Association

Website

https://brasa.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BRASA is a non-profit academic association founded in 1992 that supports international Brazilian studies through biennial congresses, a tiered membership program, and scholarly awards and scholarships. It serves interdisciplinary humanities and social science scholars across the US, Brazil, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Grants, Fellowships & Stipends (International) (EDAIAOAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Study Abroad Program Management & Administration (for Institutions) (EDAIAAAJ)

Keywords

• Academic association membership
• Scholarly conferences
• Brazilian studies research
• Humanities social sciences
• Scholarly awards scholarships

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: BRASA generates revenue through annual membership fees bundled with conference registration. Membership categories differentiate pricing based on whether scholars are based in US/Canada/Europe versus Brazil or developing countries. Graduate students from Brazil/developing countries receive free membership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA) is an international, interdisciplinary scholarly organization that promotes Brazilian studies worldwide through individual and lifetime membership programs, biennial international congresses co-hosted with academic institutions, scholarly awards for researchers, and graduate student scholarships. Its offerings are directed primarily at academics, researchers, and graduate students engaged in the study of Brazil across the humanities, social sciences, and related disciplines.

Product overview

BRASA (Brazilian Studies Association) is an international, interdisciplinary scholarly organization that operates as a unified membership-based association centered around its biennial congress. The core offerings include the International Congress conferences (BRASA I through BRASA XVIII, held every two years at rotating locations), a membership program with conference registration bundles, and four distinct academic awards: the Roberto Reis Book Award (for published books), Best Article Prize (for journal articles/chapters), Jon M. Tolman Awards (for graduate student travel), and Brazilian Initiation Scholarship (for exploratory research trips). Additionally, BRASA offers a newsletter subscription service (BRASA DIGEST) for regular community updates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Latin American Studies Association (LASA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBRASA was formally launched during the 1992 LASA Congress. The first BRASA conference (BRASA I) was held in conjunction with LASA in 1994. BRASA maintains close institutional ties with LASA, utilizing LASA's web platform for membership and conference registration.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Brazilian National Association of Portuguese Language and Literature (ABRALILIT / similar): Brazilian academic associations in Portuguese language and literature studies run discipline-specific events and member programs. They overlap with BRASA's humanities focus but are discipline- or country-scoped.
• ANPOCS (Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Ciências Sociais): Brazil's leading social-science research association, based in Brazil with annual meetings and a graduate membership model. Comparable in mission but serves scholars primarily inside Brazil rather than bridging US and Brazilian academia.
• Brazilian Studies Association of the United Kingdom (BRASA-UK): A UK-based scholarly association focused on Brazilian studies, running smaller periodic events and serving as a regional complement to BRASA's US-based biennial congress. Same discipline, narrower geographic remit.
• Society for Latin American Studies (UK): A UK-based academic association promoting Latin American studies with conferences and a journal. Operates as a regional counterpart to LASA/BRASA, focused on UK-based scholars with overlapping scholarly interests in Brazil.

Broad incumbents

• International Studies Association: A large, established scholarly society with annual conventions and section-based structure. It is broader and more general than BRASA but competes for the same interdisciplinary scholar audience and congress participation budget.

Direct peers

• Latin American Studies Association: LASA is the parent/partner organization of BRASA, with the same biennial congress model, membership fee structure, and scholarly focus. It is the broadest area-studies counterpart covering all of Latin America; BRASA was launched within LASA in 1992 and still runs registrations through LASA's web platform.
• Middle East Studies Association: MESA runs an annual conference, membership tiers, and book/prize programs for Middle East studies. Its interdisciplinary area-studies convener model, pricing differential for lower-income regions, and reliance on a host university parallel BRASA's structure.
• Association for Asian Studies: AAS runs a comparable scholarly association model — annual conference, membership tiers, book and article prizes, and graduate student travel funding — but scoped to Asian studies. It is the closest structural analog to BRASA outside Latin America.
• African Studies Association: ASA operates an annual meeting, membership program, and scholarly awards for African studies. Its revenue model (dues + conference fees) and institutional structure mirror BRASA's, making it a direct peer in the area-studies association category.
• Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies: ASEEES operates an annual convention plus scholarly awards and graduate student support for Slavic/East European studies. It is a direct structural peer: area-studies scope, dues-funded, conference-driven, with US academic institution backing.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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