The Brazil Initiative has identified six core areas of excellence in which the University has displayed resilience and innovation: literature, language and culture; economic development and social inclusion; environmental change; history, politics and governance; race, ethnicity and slavery; and public health and medicine. Additionally, Brazil's emergence as an important economic and political player on the world scene has led to a proliferation of opportunities for cultural, educational, and institutional collaboration. The Brazil Initiative is poised to build an even more formidable network of scholarly connections and research projects that rely on partnerships with colleagues in Brazil by tapping into Brown's existing areas of excellence and discovering new ones across the disciplines.
Glaring social and economic inequalities along racial and regional lines have persisted even as the Brazilian economy has moved down a road of prosperity. Brown scholars in the departments of Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Urban Studies, and Development Studies continue to research the causes and probe the patterns of these inequalities, while trying to envision paths towards greater social inclusion.
Brown's interdisciplinary emphasis on environmental sustainability has taken shape through the Environmental Change Initiative and many other academic departments and centers, such as Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Geology, the Brown-Marine Biological Laboratory partnership, Sociology, and the Population Studies and Training Center. Brown is engaged in cutting-edge research on Brazil, on both the Amazon and Atlantic rainforests, and stands out as one of the top universities for the study of reforestation, agricultural development, and other questions of environmental change in Brazil.
Geri Augusto, Jung-Eun Lee, Leila Lehnen, Jack Mustard, Christopher Neill, Stephen Porder, J. Timmons Roberts, Leah VanWey
Brazil's political struggles with its colonial legacy, two decades of dictatorship, and subsequent consolidation of democracy have long been a subject of study for faculty members in Africana Studies, Anthropology, History, Sociology, and Political Science. As one of the world's largest and most vibrant democracies, Brazil's domestic and foreign policies, array of political parties, and intricate web of governance on federal and state levels has many implications for the comparative study of politics on a global scale.
James N. Green, Gabriel Rocha, Neil Safier, Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro
Brown is one of the premier institutions for the study of Portuguese language, research on Portuguese language acquisition, and scholarship on Brazilian literature in the country. It hosts a powerhouse program in the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies that has an international reputation for excellence, especially in literature, language, and culture. The program attracts undergraduate concentrators and graduate students from Brazil, Portugal, and all over the United States.
Jeremy Lehnen, Leila Lehnen, Patricia Sobral, Joshua Tucker, Luiz F. Valente
Brown's Global Health Initiative and the considerable presence of faculty in Bio-Med and Public Health with a sustained presence in Brazil as part of their research projects illustrate the deep connections between Brown and Brazil in the field of medicine. This robust area of study has great potential to expand, furthering Brown's already dynamic collaborations with universities and institutes in Brazil, and ultimately continuing to cultivate an international, cross-cultural spirit of partnership.
Susan Cu-Uvin, Rami Kantor, Simin Liu, Amy Nunn, Edward J. Wing
Brown's Department of Africana Studies and the momentum provided by the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice have brought the history of slavery in Brazil, Afro-Brazilian narratives, and socio-economic patterns of racial exclusion to the forefront. A key component of Brazilian Studies, Afro-Brazilian experiences have found a voice at Brown through the dedication of faculty and students alike throughout the years.