Summer: Rutgers- Study Abroad in Brazil: Art and Resistance
The Program
Fall in love with Rio!
The golden beaches, dramatic mountains, and backdrop of samba and bossa nova rhythms captivate students from all over the world. Studying abroad in Brazil offers an enriching experience that combines language learning, academic growth, and cultural immersion, especially focusing on the interconnections between art and resistance. It allows students to develop a global perspective while exploring one of the world’s most diverse and ecologically significant nations.
Program Locations
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil is one of the 10 largest economies in the world. With more than 200 million inhabitants, it has a domestic market that is steadily growing. It is a country with continental size territory, abundant natural resources and scenic landscapes. Although Brazil has a rich and diverse culture, a fascinating History it also struggles with urgent social challenges.
Academics
Students will participate in the summer intensive language course offered by Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) of Rio de Janeiro. This program is designed to enhance student's abilities to understand, speak, read, and write Portuguese. You can see the program brochure here. The language course taught by PUC will take place from July 14- August 8th. The rest of the time students will be led by Rutgers Faculty Dr. Isadora Grevan. This second part of the course (Art and Resistance) is mostly experiential and hands on, consisting of walks/tours to different places of historical and artistic significance in Rio de Janeiro.
After completing the language course (90 class hours, Monday- Friday), students will start the Rutgers faculty-led portion of the program.
Students will receive 3 credits for the Intensive Portuguese Language course component ( 4 levels available) and 3 credits for the Art and Resistance class component (Culture and Literature course, 21:812:35).
Housing and Meals
PUC-Rio does not provide dormitory facilities on campus but offers an enriched opportunity for students to experience the Brazilian way of life by placing them in a home-stay program.
International students are placed in home-stays located in the south zone of the city, the same as the university. Most families live near the university, within 30- 40 minutes distance from campus by city bus.
The host families are recommended by CCCI and represent a wide range of incomes and situations, from a grandmother living alone, a couple living by themselves to a larger family with several young children. Each house has their specific rules in terms of hygiene, safety, cooking and bringing friends over etc.
PUC-Rio serves as a liaison to facilitate the introduction between exchange students and host families interested in receiving them. PUC-Rio is not responsible for the payment of rent, student expenditures, or the student’s failure to abide by the house rules previously agreed upon by both parties. However, should the need arise, PUC-Rio will support and help both parties in improving the interaction between them. PUC-Rio does not have a contract with these families, we serve as an intermediate, and they are independent to do what is best for them.
Each student will sign a contract and pay the rent upfront during his/her stay. The rent includes a private room with a bed, a fan, a weekly change of sheets and towels, access to light and gas and a Brazilian breakfast (coffee, milk, bread, butter, jelly and fruit). Access to kitchen and laundry facilities is also included. Telephone use is to be arranged between the student and the family. Please be aware that some houses have only shared rooms (2 beds). In this case the rental per student will be lower than the private room. Not all homes have internet available.
How to apply:
Candidates must complete the application online selecting the Accommodation Program and filling out everything that is asked. They also need to handle the additional required documents, observing the deadline provided in the academic calendar. Check the Calendar at:
http://www.puc-rio.br/ensinopesq/ccci/calendar.html
Scholarships
Faculty Leaders
Isadora Grevan is an Associate Professor of Brazilian and Latin American Studies at Rutgers University, Newark. She holds a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, a master's degree and a doctorate in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies at Brown University. Her book “Fetichism as Structure, Image and Performance in the Theater of Nelson Rodrigues” was released in 2021 by Ed.UERJ.She has been the recipient of several research grants, including a Fulbright Scholar award and a summer workshop grant from the NEH (National Endowment for the Arts) for the study of theater and performance in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been the contributing editor of the section on Brazilian Theater for the Handbook of Latin American Studies, published by the Library of Congress biennially, since 2018. At the moment, Isadora is developing research on the feminine and its erasure in psychoanalysis through performance studies in the visual arts and literature.