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

For most Americans, Brazil is an exotic nation of soccer, Carnaval, jungle or poverty, and environmental devastation. These spring semester courses (HUM 230, HIST 298, HIST 498, Hist 495, IS 490 and IS 590) and the related study abroad experiences allow students to see beyond stereotypes and develop a complex view of Brazilian culture and history. Students begin their study on campus and then, during 14 days in May, turn their academic study into tangible understandings of these complexities during travel to Brazil.

Like the rest of the world, Brazilians cope with a changing climate, but these developments are not new: they began over 500 years ago when the Portuguese established a colony there. Five centuries later, like the United States, Brazil is a major industrial and agricultural nation, but the legacies of those early colonial days live on. Some Brazilians are leaders in environmental activism, but others prioritize economic growth over sustainability. Brazil’s poor, indigenous, and Afro-descended population suffer the consequences.

To explore these issues, we visit some of the most beautiful places on earth—Bahia and Rio de Janeiro—and meet people who live there. Students at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC) in Bahia accompany us for part of the trip and serve as translators. Throughout, we see how historians, writers, environmentalists, and students see their nation.

Topics include Brazil’s Atlantic Forest and the introduction of sugar; indigenous history and culture, Afro-Brazilian history and culture, resistance, and survival; public history and art; and climate change. General Education credits are available through HIST 298 or HUM 230. History undergraduates receive Non-western credit. IS490 and IS590 fulfill the International Studies requirements for experience abroad. All undergraduate courses fulfill the GenEd International requirement.

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