Brazil and Brazilians: Exploring History, Culture, and Climate Change in Bahia, Rio De Janeiro and Connecticut

For most Americans, Brazil is an exotic nation of soccer, Carnaval, and tropical forests or poverty and environmental devastation. These Spring semester courses (HIST 298, HIST 498, Hist 495, IS 490, IS 590 and JRN450) and the related study abroad experiences allow students to see beyond stereotypes and develop a complex view of Brazil and Brazilians in their home nation and Connecticut. Students begin their study on campus and then, during 12 days in May, put their academic study to the test through travel to Brazil. Students in JRN450 create journalistic content informed by their academic study. 

We spend our first days in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Salvador da Bahia, one of the most important colonial historic districts in the Americas. Then we will travel through Brazil’s historic sugar plantation district until we arrive in Ilhéu, where we meet students at the State University of Santa Cruz, visit historic sites, cacao plantations, and a botanical institute. Finally, we finish our study-trip in Rio de Janeiro, one of the world’s most iconic cities. Throughout, we see how Brazilian historians, anthropologists, environmentalists, and university students see the past, present, and future of their nation and ours. We also see how Brazilians present their history for local, national, and international publics. 

Specific topics include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and agricultural development; indigenous peoples, Afro-Brazilians, resistance, and survival; immigration and emigration; labor history; public history; and climate change. History students may elect the course to count as Non-Western history or U.S. history but must do so before the course begins. General Education credit is available through HIST 298. IS490 and IS590 fulfill the International Studies requirements for experience abroad.