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Preparation/Guidelines

Valladolid (Spain)

Bahia (Brazil)

UI Study Abroad Office

Portuguese language and Brazilian literature and culture

June 27-August 09, 2005

Application deadline: April 2

June 27-August 9 are travelling dates
All students must arrive in Salvador by June 28.
Group dinner on June 28th.
On-site orientation and placement on June 29th.

Description of the Program

This program takes place in the city of Salvador in the state of Bahia, an area that strongly displays African influence in past and present Brazil. This seven-week-summer program provides undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to learn the language, culture, literature, and history of Brazil. It offers courses comprising beginning, intermediate, and advanced Portuguese language, and Brazilian culture and literature. It is designed to help the students immerse in the experience of learning Portuguese, or acquiring fluency in it, while experiencing the rich and varied historical and cultural landscape of Bahia.

Information about Salvador

Salvador was first colonized some 30 years after Brazil was discovered (1500). With a population of 1.8 million, Salvador is Brazil's fourth largest city in Brazil and capital of the state of Bahia. The religion and mysticism that are so much a part of Bahian life are reflected in the name Salvador, which means savior. According to legend, Salvador has 365 churches, one for each day of the year. Music and religion are as essential a part of the people's lives. The music of capoeira (a martial art/dance/ritual developed by the slaves) is directly related to that of candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion). The best way to orient yourself in Salvador is to think of the town as divided into four: beaches, suburbs, and upper and lower city. Downtown Salvador encompasses both the historical Cidade Alta (Upper City) and the Cidade Baixa (Lower City). In the upper city, the highlight is Largo do Pelourinho (Pillory), site of Salvador's best-preserved colonial buildings. Today, Pelourinho is considered by UNESCO to be one of the most important grouping of 17th and 18th century colonial architecture in the Americas. The center of the square is now occupied by the Casa de Jorge Amado, a museum/library replete with books by Brazil's most famous novelist (his works have been translated into nearly 50 languages).

Accommodations

Each program participant will be housed with a Brazilian family that provides daily breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are also group dinners and lunches.

Academic Program and Cultural Activities

Classes are held weekday mornings in ACBEU (Associação Cultural Brazil Estados Unidos). In the afternoons there are lectures on various topics ranging from Brazilian culture to economy and politics. The classroom experience is broadened with guided field trips with bilingual guides to historical sites, museums, churches, Candomblé temples, capoeira academies, shantytowns, and social organizations. There are also occasional weekend field trips.

Students choose from one of three tracks, depending on their Portuguese language level which is determined by a placement test at the beginning of the program. All courses are taught in Portuguese, and can satisfy the following requirements for University of Iowa students:

Track I: Português para Iniciantes (Elementary Portuguese) = 38:100 (6 semester hours)

Track II: Português para Nível Intermediário (Intermediate Portuguese) = 38:101 (6 semester hours)

Track III: Advanced Portuguese students will take two or three of the following (3 semester hours each):

1) Expressão Oral e Escrita (Oral and Written Expression | "Brazil in the News") = 38:103

2) Advanced Grammar

3) Literature Course (Topics will vary: 2005 topic will be Brazilian Literature and History)

4) Culture Course (Practices of African Origin)

All Track III students will take at least two courses. For non-FLAS students, special permission from the faculty director may be required in order to enroll in three courses.

FLAS Students: The following course is available for FLAS students only. By taking this course in combination with three courses

Selected from Track III, a FLAS student may fulfill the 140 contact hour requirement.

5) Temas Sócio-culturais (Topics: portfolio/ journal /special projects) The faculty director will oversee-independent projects undertaken by FLAS students. (1 semester hour)

Additional Information

For a complete chart of 2004 classes and activities, times and locations, blocked out in calendar form, with additional details, click on http://www.uiowa.edu/~uiabroad/programs/brazil/brazil_calendar_2004.pdf.

Much more information -including photos- is available at the program's web site; click on http://www.uiowa.edu/~uiabroad/programs/brazil_lang.htm or contact the U.I. Study Abroad office, (319) 335-0353 or the Resident Director, Prof. Maria José Somerlate Barbosa, (319) 353-2197.

Application: An application can be downloaded from the above website. Completed applications for the summer 2004 session must reach the University of Iowa by 2 April. Late applications will be accepted on a space available basis only. For further information contact the Office of Study Abroad, 120 International Center, (319)335-0353.

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