Understanding Brazil as a global crossroads of cultures, languages, and powers lies at the heart of the Portuguese studies program. Our approach underscores Brazil as a gateway to study ties with Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas, across the Atlantic and Global South, as well as a conduit for relations among Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Our language program focuses on the national formation and transnational interplay among African, Asian, European, Indigenous, and Middle Eastern peoples and histories that shape not only Brazil but also Angola, Mozambique, Portugal, and other parts of what is sometimes called the Lusophone world.
In the M.A. program in Portuguese, students broaden and deepen their knowledge of Brazil-related topics and themes, working closely with faculty members in Portuguese. Students draw on the many upper-level course offerings across departments and disciplines to create an individualized plan of study. We count this diversity and openness as one of our strengths, with students able to count courses in anthropology, comparative literature, ethnomusicology, global studies, history, and Latin American and Caribbean studies. For more on the coursework requirements for the M.A., please see:
http://catalog.illinois.edu/graduate/graduate-majors/spanish-port/brazilian-studies-concentration/
For information on course offerings across disciplines, please see the list generated by Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. NB: Courses with at least 1/3 Brazil-related course content are eligible for credit in the Portuguese M.A.
http://www.clacs.illinois.edu/academics/courses.aspx
Beginning in the second semester, students will begin to work with a professor in or affiliated with the Portuguese program to develop a research project. During the second year students will produce a research project of publishable quality working with Portuguese and affiliated faculty, including up to 4 independent study hours.
Our M.A. graduates follow academic and non-academic career paths and foster new visions of the world from a Brazilian standpoint.