Purpose/Description: 

This Minor in the Humanities encourages study of the peoples, cultures, literatures and languages of the continent-sized country of Brazil within a global framework of historical and contemporary interconnections. These global ties and networks with other regions and continents and their peoples, histories and cultures include: the region of Latin America; peoples of African descent and their cultures in the African diaspora, including historical and contemporary ties to Africa; international migration between Brazil and the regions of Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Americas; Indigenous peoples and cultures of the Americas, including those of the Amazon and other regions of Brazil, extending into bordering South American countries; and historical and contemporary ties between Brazil and other countries of the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) world, especially Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe, as well as Portugal.  

Course Requirements: 

The coursework in the Minor is interdisciplinary, in order to explore in dialogue a variety of peoples and cultures with links to Brazil.  

The Minor requirements are five 3-credit courses (a total of 15 credits) with a significant component on Brazil and/or the Portuguese-speaking world, in a national or international context. The core Minor courses will generally be based in fields including Cultural Studies, International Studies, Black Studies, Peace Studies, Film Studies, Afro-Romance Studies and Migration Studies. Language study beyond the 2100-level of Portuguese can also be credited towards the Minor requirements. 

The following is a list of core courses in the Minor (3 credits each): 

PORT 2005 Topics in Portuguese-Humanities/Fine Arts  

PORT 2310 Brazilian Civilization  

SPAN 2330 Latin American Civilization  

PORT 3001/3005 Topics in Portuguese-General or Humanities/Fine Arts  

PORT 3875 Brazilian Cinema  

FILMS_VS 3875 Brazilian Cinema  

PORT 3885 Twenty-First Century South American Cinema  

SPAN 3885 Twenty-First Century South American Cinema  

FILMS_VS 3885 Twenty-First Century South American Cinema  

Culture/topics emphasis courses in the general field of the Minor (described above) offered by other programs/departments (e.g. Anthropology, History, Music, Political Science) may also count toward the required credits. Interested students should verify with the director of the Global Brazil Minor whether a specific course not listed above qualifies for the Minor.  

Normally 9 credits must be completed in residence at MU. However, students are permitted to count 6 credits toward the Minor from an officially sanctioned semester or year-long foreign study program in Brazil or Portugal. These include the MU in Rio de Janeiro program at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica and the CIEE Universidade Nova de Lisboa program. 

Course work must be completed with a grade in the C range or higher in each of the required courses and students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the Minor.  

Contact: Jack Draper (draperj@missouri.edu), Director of the Global Brazil Minor