Brazil
The Changing Social Face of Brazil
June 3-12, 2006

Rationale
Today’s Brazil is facing many challenges. The largest country in Latin America, encompassing nearly half of South America, Brazil has a population of over 160 million and is one of the world’s top ten economies. Ethnically one of the most diverse countries in the world, its historical experience is evident in the integration of various groups including Afro-Brazilians, Indians, and immigrants from all over the world. Brazil faces the difficulties of integration into the globalized world, while addressing issues of unemployment, severe inequality, and economic instability at home. This seminar affords faculty participants the opportunity to learn about the cultural and social aspects of Brazil with a special emphasis on racial issues. A visit to the Afro-Brazilian capital of Salvador da Bahia will provide the chance to examine racial relations firsthand while experiencing the rich and diverse African culture. These issues and more will be examined in lectures and site visits led by university faculty, businessmen, and other leaders in the communities.

Host Institutions
The seminar is hosted jointly by the Assessoria de Relações Internacionais (International Relations Commission) of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC) in São Paulo and the Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA). PUC was founded in 1946, has 22,000 students and 2,000 professors, and is considered among the best universities in Brazil. PUC maintains a strong research tradition, which is unique among private institutions of higher learning in Brazil. Among PUC’s well known intellectuals are Paulo Freire and Florestan Fernandes. PUC had an important role in the resistance of the dictatorship regime in Brazil as well as participation in Brazil’s re-democratization process.

The Universidade Federal da Bahia, located in the Northeast region famed for its vibrant Afro-Brazilian culture, is ranked as one of the top 10 universities in Brazil. It has 58 departments for undergraduate majors and 44 post-graduate ones, including 11 at the doctoral level. The campus is host to over 18,000 students and is situated near the commercial downtown area and the old colonial zone of Pelourinho.

Seminar Leadership
Dr. Jose Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy is a Professor of History at the University of São Paulo, where he earned his Ph.D. His specialization and research areas are in oral history, Brazilian social history: popular culture, and Iberian history: the Spanish Civil War. He has been a visiting professor at Columbia University, Stanford University, and the University of Miami. His publications include: Brazil Outside of Yourself: Brazilians’ Experiences in New York, Black Cinderella: The Story of Carolina Maria de Jesus, The Spanish Civil War, and America: Fiction and Utopia.

Dr. Jeferson Bacelar of the Universidade Federal da Bahia is the Faculty Leader for the Bahia portion of the seminar. Dr. Bacelar is a professor of Anthropology, a renowned specialist in Afro-Brazilian relations, and the Resident Director of the CIEE Study Center in Bahia.

Academic Content
Following are the tentative lectures, site visits and study tours for this seminar:

Lectures

• Brazilian Culture(s): A Panorama
• A New Profile of Brazilian Indigenous Societies
• Brazil Today – Politics: The Workers Party in Power
• Social Movements in Brazil: The Agrarian Social Movement
• Environmental Issues in Contemporary Brazil
• Historical Perspectives of Present Brazilian Economy
• Brazilian Modern Art
• Slavery in Brazil and the Slave Resistance
• The Afro-Bahian Religious Culture
• Racism’s Challenges and the Afro-Bahian Culture Strength

Site Visits/Study Tours

• Tour of São Paulo
• Movimento Sem Terra (Landless Movement in Brazil)
• Tour of Pelourinho – the old colonial zone in downtown Salvador
• Visit the Afro-Brazilian Cultural Museum
• Mercado Modelo
• Tour of Rio de Janeiro
• Corcovado
• Museum of Modern Art in Niterói
  
  

Itinerary
This 10-day seminar begins in São Paulo (3 nights), continues to Salvador da Bahia (3 nights), and ends in Rio de Janeiro (3 nights). Note: The 2 flights within Brazil are included in the seminar fee.

Seminar Fee
$2,600

Optional Site Visit: The Amazon
A program to the Amazon is under development. Please contact CIEE for more information.