Contemporary Brazil

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label Diverse autorenew 2025-09-29, 17:01 history_edu Diana Ignat
Host to the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2014 World Cup, in a few short years Brazil has become a nation that demands attention from the world. One of the largest countries on earth, with a territory bigger than the continental United States and a population greater than Russia's, this dynamic nation has experienced enormous demographic, environmental, economic, political, social and cultural change in recent decades.Here, we'll explore Brazilian and Latin American historical events, economic development, political transformations, current understandings of race and gender in Brazil, environmental issues, urbanisation, Brazilian cinema, religion, culture, literature, and music.

This course is ideal for those interested in international events, global change, socio-cultural transformation and Latin America in general. You'll be taught by members of the Brazil Institute and drawing on London's rich relationship with Brazil, including trips to the Brazilian Embassy, meetings with members of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and guest lectures from leading academics, business leaders, artists and other prominent figures.

Period
19-07-2013 - 09-08-2013 (3 weeks)

Target group
Students who are interested in international events, global change, socio-cultural transformation, and Brazil/Latin America more generally will be drawn to this course. Because the Brazil Institute is an interdisciplinary learning centre, students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds in the social sciences and humanities will feel at home in this course. Students are not required to have a strong background in Brazil or Latin American Studies, nor do they need to speak Portuguese in order to enjoy this course.

Course aim
The principal objective of this module is to introduce you to a select set of important issues that have come about in Brazil in recent decades. The focus is not only upon issues that affect Brazil, but are also global in scale. Topics to be explored include population growth; rural-urban migration and urbanisation; environmental change (including deforestation); urban crime and violence; religious change and the rise of evangelical Protestantism; contemporary Brazilian cinema; gender and race relations; Brazils activist foreign policy, especially in South America; economic stabilisation and development; social policy, including public health policy and conditional cash transfer programmes; and cultural policy.

This module will draw on readings from a variety of different social science and humanities disciplines. By the end of the module it is expected that you will have an understanding of why and how these issues became prominent in Brazilian public life, as well as some insight into the key debates that surround them.



This course will sometimes involve short excursions outside of the classroom (to the Brazilian Embassy, the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, local exhibitions). Guest speakers (academics, business leaders, artists, state actors) will also participate in some class sessions. Faculty members of the King's Brazil Institute will share teaching for this course so that you gain a broader appreciation of the many different topics that are important to contemporary Brazil.

Credits
7.5 ECTS credits

Many of our students get credit for the summer courses taken at Kings. You should approach your home university before applying to find out whether they accept our courses for credit. We would recommend a three-week course to be equivalent 4 US credits or 7.5 ECTS, for instance.

Course fee
GBP 1350: Tuition fees only

Course leader
King's Brazil Institute

King's College London
Address: Strand, London
Postal code: WC2R 2LS
City: London
Country: United Kingdom
Website: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/summerschool
E-mail: summerschool@kcl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 20 7848 1533