Brazil in the 21st Century

Rio de Janeiro The Marvelous City Reinvented

When: May 5, 2012 to June 6, 2012

Where: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Program: Brazil in the 21st Century is an academic program offers students immersion into one of the world's most dynamic, diverse, and growing populations. The program is hosted by the well-respected Institute Brazil - United States (IBEU), located in Brazil's largest city of Rio de Janeiro. Students will participate in two classes at IBEU's centrally located Copacabana campus, which provides quick access to many historical and cultural points of the city. The cultural immersion is furthered through home stays with selected, pre-screened local families in surrounding neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. The academic program will be complemented by numerous guided excursions, lectures, and field visits with local academics and cultural experts.

Today, Brazil is a land of contrasts. It is home to one of the world’s largest multiethnic societies, yet it is one of the most segregated. While it is one of the world’s largest democracies with over 190 million inhabitants, its political history is turbulent. The environmental landscape offers a vast array of diverse--yet vulnerable--ecosystems, but Brazil’s cities and urban growth outpace most others in the world. These defining characteristics, including demographic shifts, economic transition, political change, and landscape transformation, will allow students to engage in a “dialogue” about global issues with other Brazilian students, cultures, families, businesses, and policymakers.

Rio de Janeiro is a city of multiple faces, which is shown in its natural beauty, the variety of people that walk along the streets, and its five centuries of culture. From the beach to the forest, from the rural tranquility to the urban hustle and bustle, Rio is, without a doubt, one of the most original cities in Brazil. At the end of the program, students will have had the opportunity of interacting and exchanging ideas with people from many diverse backgrounds, and thus gain exposure to a wide spectrum of Brazilian society and Brazil's place in the global community.

Student will participate in the following courses:

1) Portuguese Language Immersion (4-credits): This intensive immersion in Portuguese will focus on the communicative and humanistic approaches to use the language in situations simulating day-to-day life. The skills of listening, speaking, writing, and reading will be integrated in such a manner as to ensure communication. The aim is to enable the student to improve his/her communication skills in everyday situations, understand both spoken and written language, through systematic acquisition of the necessary grammar, and develop the ability to speak and use the language with confidence. Students will attend daily intensive language classes each weekday morning, which are supplemented by the linguistic and cultural immersion experience.

2) POLS 4937 Government and Politics: Learning Abroad in Brazil: It will introduce students to the political dimensions of globalization and its influences on the Brazil we know today. Students will learn about local and national history through an examination of social, political, economic, and environmental issues. Visits to sites on different aspects of Brazilian culture, history, economy, environment, and politics will give students the opportunity to evaluate the influences, developments, and perspectives for a global Brazil. Service Learning opportunities, the language tool and the knowledge of globalization will set the context for this learning.

3) Cultural Field Sites: Visits and excursions to sites on different aspects of Brazilian culture, history, economy, environment, and politics will give students the opportunity to evaluate the influences, developments, and perspectives for a global Brazil. The language tool and the knowledge of globalization will set the context for this learning.

Contact: Prof. Simone Elias at s.elias@neu.edu or Prof. Thomas Vicino t.vicino@neu.edu or 617.373.2619.

Disclaimer: This information is subject to change. Visit Northeastern University's Office of International Study Programs for complete details.

For More Information:

Read about the program of Prof. Vicino and Prof. Elias on Northeastern University's Dialogue of Civilizations Program.

Read and Watch a Sample of Students' Blogs from Summer 2010 and 2011:
(with prior permission)

Blog from Sara Harris

Blog from George Gomes

Blog from Lauren Williams