Fraya Frehse

Prof. Dr. Fraya Frehse is a Professor of Sociology at the University of São Paulo (USP), specializing in Urban Sociology, Sociology of Space, and the History of Everyday Life. She coordinates the NEPSESTE research center and is a lead partner of the GCSMUS. Her work focuses on urban theory, space and time in sociology, and urban inequality in Brazil.

• Education:
  • B.A. and Teaching Diploma in Social Sciences (USP)
  • M.A. and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology (USP, with research stays at Oxford, EHESS, and FU Berlin)
  • Postdoctoral fellowship at FU Berlin and Humboldt Universität (AvH-funded)

Her research explores urbanization, public space, and the sociological analysis of everyday life. Notable publications include works on São Paulo's urban history, Goffman's spatial theory, and Lefebvre's concepts of space and time.

Awards include Life Membership at Clare Hall College (2020), Honour votum for her postdoctoral thesis (2017), and the Sérgio Buarque de Holanda Visiting Professorship (2014). She is a CNPq Research Productivity Fellow and active in academic networks like USP Global Cities and the Brazilian Society of Sociology.

Her advisory and grants include leadership roles in NEPSESTE and the Centre for the Study of Violence. She collaborates with international institutions like the University of Cambridge and Technische Universität Berlin.

Labs/Teams: Coordinator of the NEPSESTE and collaborator with the Collaborative Research Centre 'Re-Figuration of Spaces' (TU Berlin).