Brazil has the Western world's eighth largest economy, with an industrial, technological and productive capacity equal to or superior to that of many European countries. At the same time, Brazil has one of the developing world's largest external debts.

One of the most-racially and ethnically mixed countries in Latin America, Brazil is a country of striking cultural contrasts. Brazil's heritage of African slavery (abolished just over one hundred years ago), large scale nineteenth and twentieth-century immigration of Europeans and Japanese and continually decreasing indigenous population provide stark social and cultural contrasts. Brazil's racial and cultural diversity makes it ideal for the study of the causes and effects of economic development and of social and political democratization.

This term is a Partnership for Global Education program run jointly with Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Course of Study

• Portuguese Language Studied Abroad - Beginning level.
• Special Topics in Women and Society in Brazil: Gender and Identity in Contemporary Brazilian Cinema. Film history, major trends & critical reception issues; main topics are: women; masculinities; race; youth and the inner-city; and, the construction of national identity. The academic focus of the course is film, gender, and cultural studies.
• Special Topics in Environmental Studies: Water Resources, Women, and Environment (tentative title): Environmental and social issues explored in a course with a field work component; guest lectures & field trips to diverse sites (industries, distribution & purification plants, damns, slums, etc.). This course may carry a science credit.
• Special Topics in Brazilian Cultures and Societies (tentative). Social science course on Brazilian history, politics, and societies.

Please consult the PGE web site (http://www.hws.edu/academics/global/brazil.aspx) for additional information, photographs from program participants, and a variety of links to related sites.

Eligibility

Students must have an overall cumulative average of 2.5, be in good academic standing when the program begins, and be certified as eligible by the Dean of Students. Students must also complete the pre-requisite course, Basic Portuguese (POR 10), offered in the Spring term of 2009.Students will be interviewed before acceptance.

Expenses

The inclusive fee (the comprehensive fee plus a $600 surcharge for excursions) covers tuition, room, board, and all group excursions. It does not cover personal or recreational expenses. Travel to and from Brazil, a passport, and a visa is the individual responsibility of each student. All scholarships apply to the program, with the exception of work-study.

Calendar

*Dates to be announced