COURSE INFORMATION:

Students take LACS 105: Contemporary Brazil (3 credits) and one of the following courses:

LTPO 150: Portuguese Literature in Translation (3 credits)
-OR-
LTPO 250: Portuguese Literature in Translation (3 credits)

PROGRAM INFORMATION:

Dr. Luci Moreira will teach these two interdisciplinary courses, which are intended to provide an overall introduction to Brazil in terms of its literature, history, politics, economy, geography/land distribution, environment/ecology, religious beliefs, food, art, popular culture (folkloric and popular music and dance). Brazil is of one of Latin America’s most important countries, and a country that has been a key part in the making of the Atlantic world.

This intensive two and a half week program will examine the way in which its historical background has contributed to the rich regional diversity of Brazilian culture, and how literature can provide a coherent point of entry for broader esthetic and other questions surrounding images of tropical places, and the south and southeast regions in particular. Special features of these two courses encompass a trip to getting to know the States of Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Rio de Janeiro. This will be done in three ways:

1) By visiting Belo Horizonte and the historic sites of the state;
2) by spending s few days in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia; and
3) by traveling to Rio de Janeiro

Salvador has a rich and diverse environment, and was the site of the biggest slave trade in Latin America. From Salvador, the group will visit Petrolina, which represents a very different geographical area of the caatinga.

At the end, students will travel to Rio de Janeiro, where they will have the opportunity to experience life in a highly-dense and populated urban area. As one of the spots of the 2014 World Cup, and the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio has attracted world attention, attracting foreign businesses and investments. Students will visit the sites of both events as well as the ecological urban forest of Tijuca where the landmark statue of Christ was built.

Participants should be able to walk for long periods of time, moving frequently from one place to another. They should also expect a long plane trip, with possible waiting time at the airport or taking planes at night/early morning, in addition to bus trips. Due to Brazil’s topography, students with limited mobility may encounter difficulty in certain areas.

PROGRAM DIRECTORS:

Dr. Luci Moreira
Department of Hispanic Studies
moreiram@cofc.edu
843-953-6753

Dr. Moreira was born in Brazil. She received her Ph.D in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Moreira is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and is the Director of the Summer Language Program at Middlebury College, in Vermont. She has directed this program to Brazil eleven times in the past with the most recent program in 2015.

Mr. José Moreira
Department of Hispanic Studies
moreiraj@cofc.edu
843-953-5318

Professor Moreira teaches Spanish and Portuguese at the College of Charleston and has extensive knowledge of Brazil. He is the Assistant Director for this program, as he has done for the programs to Brazil in the past.