Inequality, Race and Gender

Brazil

On Campus: CD Mod; March 13 - May 9, 2024, Day & Time TBD
Off Campus: May 13 to June 5, 2024 (tentative)

Program Highlights

  • Visit one of Brazil's oldest, largest, and most diverse states to better understand the relationship between gender, race, and inequality in the country.
  • Become immersed in the culture of Salvador through events at the Federal University, various cultural and educational events, and staying with a host family.
  • Through lectures and informal conversations, obtain a deeper understanding of the current Brazilian political landscape and its connection to issues of race, gender, and inequality.
  • Visit various sites in the state of Bahia and see first hand the differences between urban, rural, and coastal life in Brazil.

Explore complete Brazil Embedded Program details on the CSB/SJU Global Portal.

Course & Program Information

Course Name: Inequality, Race, and Gender in Brazil

Course Number: POLS 380B

Credit Number: 4 credits

Integrations Curriculum:  Global Engagement (GL) , Cultural & Social Difference (CS),  & Experiential Engagement (EX)

Prerequisite: Culture & Social Difference: Identity (CI).

Course Description:

This course combines classroom learning at CSB/SJU during CD mod and ends with an experiential component abroad. Brazil is a complex country. Blessed with abundant natural resources, it has constantly failed to transform this potential into sustained economic development. The economic growth of the past century has exacerbated long lasting inequalities that date back to the colonial period, with the legacy of slavery looming large to this day. These inequalities, when analyzed more deeply, show that race and gender are important categories in understanding the country’s struggle for social and economic development. This class explores the relationship between development, inequality, race and gender in Brazil. Students will learn about the historical contexts that have created Brazil as a nation while also seeing firsthand the economic, social, cultural, and racial diversity of the country.

Program Information:

In May we spend three weeks in the country, staying in Salvador for most of the time but also exploring other cities and towns in Bahia state. The state is the oldest in the country, the place where the Portuguese first landed when they reached Brazil. With a rich and complicated history, including years of slave trade and a troubled (and violent) colonial history, the state of Bahia is a great place to learn more about the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Cultural traditions, regional differences, and economic inequality are present for students to see firsthand. The combination of in-class studies during CD Mod and three weeks of experiential learning will allow students to obtain a detailed and refined understanding of the politics of race, gender, and inequality in Brazil.

The course will also include trips to beautiful places in the state of Bahia. The state, almost as large as France, has a long coastal area, beautiful highlands, a large savannah, and desert-like regions. By visiting these places, we will experience geographical and cultural diversity, helping student better understand the urban-rural divide in Brazil and its connection to discussions of race, gender, and inequality in the country.

Program Cost & Financial Considerations

Students on an embedded program will pay an education program fee in addition to the cost of attendance for the semester. Program Fee information will be available in September 2021, but you can find more information about costs on the CSB/SJU Global Portal.  

Students should plan early for a successful study abroad experience. Financial aid and scholarships may be available to help with program costs, but must be searched out well in advance.   

Accommodations

Students stay with host families (two students per family). Host families live in houses or apartments in the same neighborhood, also close to other activities and events we will attend during our stay. Host families provide students three meals a day as well as free laundry facilities. Students will also have access to internet.

Program Director Information

Pedro dos Santos teaches in the Political Science Department. His teaching focus is on comparative politics, gender and politics, and the Global South. His research focus is on women’s representation in Brazil, and he spends most summers in the country conducting fieldwork for his research projects. Contact [email protected]