Programs by Language: Portuguese
Belo Horizonte: Brazil in the 21st Century: A Comparative Study of the Development of a Globalizing Nation: The FIFA World Cup, Olympics, Oil Reserves, and the Global Context of the Portuguese Language (Closed)
Dialogue of Civilizations | Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Faculty Leaders: Tom Vicino (t.vicino@neu.edu) and Simone Elias (s.elias@neu.edu)
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)
Summer I 2012
Courses: POLS4937 Government and Politics: Learning Abroad & PORT1301/1302/2301/2302/3301/3302/Directed Study
Description:
This faculty-led program offers students immersion into some of the world’s most dynamic, diverse and growing cities in Brazil: Belo Horizonte, also known as the Garden City and Brazil’s third largest city. You also will have the opportunity to visit other cities in Brazil.
This academic program offers students immersion into one of the world’s most dynamic, diverse, and growing populations of Brazil. The program is hosted by two well-respected institutions: 1) the top-ranked UNA University and 2) the Cultural Institute Brazil United States (ICBEU). The host university, UNA University, is a vibrant and innovative institution of higher education and is considered the best private university center in the state of Minas Gerais. Students will relate well to UNA University as it shares a similar profile to that Northeastern University, which aims to prepare students for life-long learning in a global marketplace.
Students will participate in two classes at ICBEU’s and UNA’s centrally located campuses around the Savassi district of Belo Horizonte, which provides quick access to many historical and cultural points of the city. Students will study the global context of the Portuguese language. Also, students will study the social, economic, and political dimensions of the urbanization of Brazil’s first planned city, Belo Horizonte—a large city of 2.5 million residents in a metropolitan region of nearly 6 million. With an urban plan inspired by L’enfant’s Washington, DC, Belo Horizonte boasts large promenades lined with some of the most arresting architecture in South America. This urbanization has attracted some of the leading technology companies in the world, like Google and Fiat as well as hosting the FIFA World Cup. Participants in the Dialogue will have an opportunity to meet and exchanges ideas with leading government officials, policymakers, economic developers, industrial giants, and cultural experts.
The cultural immersion is furthered through academic exchange with students at UNA University. The academic program will be complemented by numerous guided excursions, including an excursion to historical Ouro Preto, Tiradentes and other important satellite cities in Brazil, in which students will have the opportunity to compare and contrast the facets of a planned city such as Belo Horizonte, a historical city of gold such as Ouro Preto to the fascinating urban spaces. Students will also engage in lectures, and field visits with scholarly authorities and local leaders.
At the end of the program, students will have had the opportunity to interact and exchange 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. Ultimately, students will return home with a new knowledge of the how the “old” and “new” Brazil compare and contrast. Students will reflect on the new global directions of Brazil. The course introduces students to the dimensions of globalization, and its influences on the Brazil we know today. Students will learn about how Belo Horizonte grew as a planned urban center and industrial and technological hub. They will also learn several aspects of business and economy related to the new economic developments in Brazil. Visits to institutions, organizations and dialogues with locals and leaders will give the students the opportunity to evaluate the influences, developments, and perspectives for a global Brazil in the 21st century. The language tool and the knowledge of the politics of globalization will set the context for this learning experience.
SALVADOR DA BAHIA: CIEE – multiple universities
Traditional | Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)
This program is targeted to students who have at least four semesters of college-level Spanish and/or two semesters of Portuguese and want to improve their Portuguese language skills and knowledge of contemporary Brazil, especially the Northeast region with its distinctive cultural patterns.
SAO PAULO: CIEE – multiple universities
Traditional | Sao Paulo, Brazil
Study Abroad Coordinator: Colleen Boyle (c.boyle@neu.edu)