Degree Programs
Major in Brazilian Studies
Majors in Brazilian Studies complete an interdisciplinary program on Brazil: one of the largest democracies in our hemisphere, a key trading partner, and an important source of cultural production. While the primary intellectual focus of the proposed major is on Brazil, program design is intended to place the study of Brazil in the broader context of comparison with the United States, Latin America, the Portuguese-speaking world and the Black Atlantic, thus allowing students to understand Brazil in relation to wider sociocultural and historical contexts.
SDSU is an ideal setting for a major in Brazilian Studies because of the University’s rich offerings in Portuguese language, Latin American Studies, Africana Studies, and the programming and partnerships of the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies. The Center’s already existing programs, such as study abroad programs and student internships in Brazil, support the major and offer students opportunities for meaningful learning experiences in Brazil. Furthermore, San Diego, which is home to a sizeable Brazilian population, boasts a strong Brazilian cultural presence throughout the city. The Center maintains active collaborations with community partners, who support student learning through guest lectures, cultural events, and other programming.
A major in Brazilian Studies provides several professional and academic opportunities. The interdisciplinary training of the Brazilian Studies major enables students to choose the courses that will best prepare them for their career goals. An undergraduate degree in Brazilian Studies can lead to exciting careers in diplomacy, international organizations, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector. The Brazilian Studies capstone requirement ensures that students graduate having completed a research project of publishable quality that can serve as a writing sample for graduate school or job applications.
12 units
BRAZ 222 - Art, Sport, and Culture in Contemporary Brazil (3 units)
Three Units of Statistics or Logic Selected From
- ECON 201 - Statistical Methods (3 units)
- PHIL 120 - Introduction to Logic (3 units)
- POL S 201 - Elementary Statistics for Political Science (3 units)
- PSY 280 - Statistical Methods in Psychology (4 units)
- SOC 201 - Elementary Social Statistics (3 units)
- STAT 119 - Elementary Statistics for Business (3 units)
- STAT 250 - Statistical Principles and Practices (3 units)
Six Units of Electives Selected From
- ANTH 102 - Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology (3 units)
- BRAZ 233 - Latin American Documentary Practices (3 units)
- ECON 101 - Principles of Economics (3 units)
GEOG 102 - People, Places, and Environments (3 units) - GEOG 106 - World Regional Geography (3 units)
- GEOG 170 - Sustainable Places and Practices (3 units)
- LATAM 101 - Introduction to Latin American Studies (3 units)
- POL S 104 - Introduction to Global Politics (3 units)
- PORT 250 - Women’s Literature in the Portuguese-speaking World (3 units)
- SOC 101 - Introductory Sociology: The Study of Society (3 units)
- TFM 160 - Cinema as Art (3 units)
- WMNST 103 - Women and Global Justice (3 units)
A minimum of 30 upper division units to include:
Three Units of International Experience
One Three-unit Capstone Requirement, Fulfilled by
- BRAZ 444 - Brazilian Studies Capstone Seminar (3 units)
24 Upper Division Major Electives
24 upper division major electives with three units of upper division Brazilian Studies courses and three units in each of the following three areas of specialization. No course may be used to satisfy more than one area. Courses numbered 495, 496, 498, 499 and 596 from all participating departments, and other upper-division courses with appropriate content on Brazil, are acceptable for elective credit with approval of the adviser.
Specializations
Brazilian Studies
- BRAZ 325 - Brazilian Democracy and Society (3 units)
- BRAZ 333 - The Amazon is the Center of the World (3 units)
- BRAZ 433 - Creative Interventions in South American Streets: Activism, Art, and the City (3 units)
- BRAZ 455 - Sport in Brazilian Society (3 units)
- BRAZ 496 - Experimental Topics (1-4 units)
Language and Arts
- BRAZ 333 - The Amazon is the Center of the World (3 units)
- BRAZ 433 - Creative Interventions in South American Streets: Activism, Art, and the City (3 units)
- LATAM 306 - Portuguese and Brazilian Cinema and Culture (3 units)
- LATAM 420 - Latin America Through Film (3 units)
- PORT 306 - Portuguese and Brazilian Cinema and Culture (3 units)
- PORT 307 - Brazilian Music and Culture (3 units)
- PORT 443 - Contemporary Luso-Brazilian Civilization (3 units)
- PORT 496 - Selected Studies in Portuguese (3 units)
- PORT 535 - Race, Gender, and National Identity in Brazilian Literature (3 units)
- PORT 540 - Luso-Brazilian Literature (3 units)
Sustainability and Cultures
- AFRAS 300 - Afro-Brazilian Community, Culture, and Identity (3 units)
- AFRAS 351 - Black Religions and Spirituality (3 units)
- AFRAS 472 - African Enslavement (3 units)
- ANTH 422 - Music and Culture (3 units)
- ANTH 442 - Cultures of South America (3 units)
- ANTH 443 - Anthropology of Violence (3 units)
- BRAZ 325 - Brazilian Democracy and Society (3 units)
- BRAZ 333 - The Amazon is the Center of the World (3 units)
- BRAZ 433 - Creative Interventions in South American Streets: Activism, Art, and the City (3 units)
- BRAZ 455 - Sport in Brazilian Society (3 units)
- GEOG 324 - Latin America (3 units)
- JMS 454 - Media and Brazil (3 units)
- LATAM 425 - Illness, Health, and Healing in Latin America (3 units)
- LATAM 545 - The Latin American City (3 units)
- MUSIC 345 - Music Cultures of the World (3 units)
- MUSIC 561 - Area Studies: Ethnomusicology (3 units)
- PHIL 360 - Contemporary Brazilian Philosophers (3 units)
- REL S 351 - Black Religions and Spirituality (B) (3 units)
- REL S 406 - God, Gold, and Glory: Religion and Colonial Encounter in the Americas (D) (3 units)
- SOC 350 - Population and Contemporary Issues (3 units)
- SOC 411 - Police and Society in the Americas (3 units)
History, Politics, and Economics
- AFRAS 320 - Political Economy of African Diaspora (3 units)
- BRAZ 325 - Brazilian Democracy and Society (3 units)
- ECON 464 - Economic Problems of Latin America (3 units)
- HIST 415 - Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin America (3 units)
- HIST 416 - Modern Latin America (3 units)
- HIST 553 - History of Slavery in the Americas (3 units)
- HIST 556 - History of Brazil (3 units)
- HIST 557 - Dictatorships and Human Rights in Latin America (3 units)
- HIST 558 - Latin America in World Affairs (3 units)
- I B 410 - Doing Business in Latin America (3 units)
- LATAM 325 - Political Economy of Brazil (3 units)
- LATAM 350 - Globalization and the Americas (3 units)
- LATAM 366 - Latin American Politics (3 units)
- LATAM 415 - Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin America (3 units)
- LATAM 553 - History of Slavery in the Americas (3 units)
- LATAM 556 - History of Brazil (3 units)
- POL S 366 - Latin American Politics (3 units)
- POL S 564 - Political Ecology of Latin America (3 units)
- POL S 566 - Political Change in Latin America (3 units)
Certificate in Brazilian Studies
Offered by the College of Arts and Letters, the basic certificate in Brazilian studies allows students to complement their course of study in traditional majors with interdisciplinary coursework on Brazil. Students gain multiple perspectives on current social, political, and economic dynamics in Brazil; learn to recognize diverse aspects of Brazilian culture including music, cinema, and religion and discuss Brazilian political and economic systems and relate them to regional and global contexts.
The certificate requires 12 units to include Arts and Letters 222 and nine units selected from Africana Studies 300, 320, 351 [or Religious Studies 351], 421, 472; Anthropology 443; International Business 410; Journalism and Media Studies 454; Latin American Studies 306 [or Portuguese 306], 307 [or Portuguese 307], 325, 415 [or History 415], 496, 553 [or History 553], 556 [or History 556]; Philosophy 360; Religious Studies 406; Sociology 411.
Students must obtain a grade of C (2.0) or better in each of the certificate courses.
Download the certificate check list
CAL-222 Art, Sports, and Culture in Contemporary Brazil
Brazilian culture and history to include capoeira, carnaval, forro, funk, ju-jitsu, samba, soccer, street art, and street theatre. Ethnic and racial diversity, nationalism, regional identity, right to urban space, rural and urban life.
LATAM-307/PORT-307 Brazilian Music & Culture
Brazilian music and culture with emphasis on religious and cultural practices of candomble, capoeira, carnival, and notions of race and class in contemporary Brazilian funk and hip-hop. Taught in English.
LATAM-415 Precontact and Colonial Latin America
Indigenous and colonial history of Latin America, pre-contact through early national period
SUSTN-496 The Amazon is the Center of the World
Interdisciplinary approach to cultural and scholarly production about the Amazon. Pre-conquest history and cosmovision of the Indigenous populations of Amazonia. Indigenous rights, ecological conservation, politics. Literature, film, visual arts, anthropology, and guest lectures.
CAL-222 Art and Sport in Brazil
Brazilian culture and history to include capoeira, carnaval, forro, funk, ju-jitsu, samba, soccer, street art, and street theatre. Ethnic and racial diversity, nationalism, regional identity, right to urban space, rural and urban life.
AFRAS-421 Black Urban Experience
Major social science literature of international Black urban experience. Behavior, culture, and oppressions unique to urban environment.
AFRAS-472 African Enslavement
Comparative history of enslavement of Africans in the Americas and Muslim world, African servitude, and modern-day enslavement.
IB-410 Doing Business in Latin America
Business and managerial methods, practices, and systems in Latin American markets.
LATAM-306/PORT-306 Portuguese & Brazilian Cinema & Culture
Movements and productions of Portuguese and Brazilian cinema. Social factors and representations of national identities. Taught in English.
ANTH-422 Music and Culture
How the forms, functions and meanings of music vary cross culturally. Understanding a society's music historically, holistically and experientially, with emphasis on non-Western music. Universals of music and music use. Ethnological theories of music and music change
AFRAS-351 Black Religions and Spirituality
Major Black religious and spiritual responses and expressions in Africa and Black diaspora, including creation of institutions to support and advance religious and spiritual matters.
HIST-415 Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin America (B)
Indigenous and colonial history of Latin America, pre-contact through early national period.
HIST-553 History of Slavery in the Americas
Trans-Atlantic slavery from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. Liberation movements, nation-states, revolution, slavery, and capitalism. Agency of enslaved people, agricultural and environmental transformations, legacies of trans-Atlantic slavery and contemporary enslavement, new communities and diversities, race and racism.
LATAM-415 Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin America
Indigenous and colonial history of Latin America, pre-contact through early national period.
PORT-306 Portuguese and Brazilian Cinema and Culture
Main movements and productions of Portuguese and Brazilian cinema. Social factors and representations of national identities. Taught in English.
AFRAS-300 Afro-Brazilian Community, Culture, and Identity
Culture, history, and the social institutions of Brazilians of African descent. Economic and political standing in Brazil's contemporary urban and traditional rural societies.
AFRAS-320 Political Economy of African Diaspora
Political economy of urban growth, development, and redevelopment in African diaspora, examined in historical and contemporary contexts. Race and class inequality and conflict; effectiveness of public and private sector decisions and programs.
AFRAS-421 Black Urban Experience
Major social science literature of international Black urban experience. Behavior, culture, and oppressions unique to urban environment.
HIST-556/MUSIC-561 Sounding Society: A History of Power, Protest, and Identity in Brazil Through Music & Art
This Arts Alive SDSU Interdisciplinary Collaborative Teaching Program links two existing classes, History 556, The History of Brazil with Music 561 Ethnomusicology Area Studies: Brazil. Adopting an interdisciplinary lens, the course will explore the role of music and the arts in contesting subjugation and marginalization in Brazil. In particular, we will use music spanning Brazilian history, including Afro-Brazilian religious music, carnival/samba, capoeira, foreign-influenced rock, tropicália, MPB, blocos afro, sertenejo, hip-hop, and favela funk to understand how different artists have engaged in direct critique of power structures and implicitly challenged the status quo though the expression of counter-hegemonic identities.
IB-410 Doing Business in Latin America
Business and managerial methods, practices, and systems in Latin American markets.
LATAM-415 Pre-Contact and Colonial Latin America
Indigenous and colonial history of Latin America, pre-contact through early national period.
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