From Brazil to Japan: war, education and circulation of knowledge in the travels of Robert King Hall, 1940-1946.

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between observations by the American educator Robert King Hall on the national integration of immigrants in Brazil and his proposals for education in postwar Japan. Hall's 1940 trip to Brazil under the aegis of the Good Neighbor Policy exposed him to Japanese teaching methods, knowledge which equipped him to subsequently participate in educational reforms in occupied Japan. In line with studies on the circulation of knowledge, this analysis addresses Hall's work on Brazilian and Japanese education, and argues that his experience in Brazil was important for his role as an intellectual in the service of the US government.