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Brazil: Culture, Development, and Social Justice
Program Excursions
Excursions, which take place during the first forty days of the program, are designed to expose students to critical issues facing the people of the Northeast of Brazil. The excursions give participants the opportunity to talk to local people regarding their lives and challenges, and learn more about the possibilities and opportunities available to them. Students are encouraged to link what they are observing and experiencing with the lifestyle and realities in the United States and also to consider the impact of US policies upon Brazil.
Pacoti Mountains
This excursion to the mountain regions in Forteleza's state of Ceará is an opportunity for students to have contact with agricultural communities. The group stays with peasant families. Discussions focus on the colonial history of Brazil, especially as it relates to land tenure, the concentration of land ownership, conditions of life for peasants, slave labor in Brazil, land conflicts, expulsion of peasants from the land, migration of the rural poor to urban centers, and environmental and human impact of conversion of agricultural lands to areas for national and international tourism.
Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST)
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This excursion to a rural agricultural settlement of MST is designed to place students in direct contact with rural workers who are engaged in a struggle for more democratic structures of land tenure in Brazil. Students visit land settlements and encampments of the MST where rural workers have occupied land and hold it for reorganization under the agrarian reform laws. Students live for two days with rural workers. The topics considered are: the importance of social movements in Brazil; the MST movement -- its organization, structure, goals and objectives; the process and challenges of organizing rural workers; the structure and organization of land settlements and encampments; and the importance of agrarian reform in Brazil.
Workers Party
This excursion takes students to the municipality of Icapuí about 250 miles from the capital of Fortaleza. The objective of the excursion is to discuss the political system of Brazil and efforts to build democratic culture. Icapuí is a municipality that has been led by the Workers Party for the last 15 years. Important experiments in popular democracy have been initiated in this municipality and it has been internationally recognized for its achievements in political transparency, democratic culture building and social inclusion. Students have the opportunity to talk with elected municipal leaders about political organizations and the inclusion of the population in political decision-making. Students also have the opportunity to visit various communities in this municipality to talk to residents regarding community-based projects of an economic and environmental nature.
Pilgrimage to Canindé
During the fall semester, students participate in the pilgrimage to the city of Canindé where the Catholic saint Francis of Assisi is worshiped. Here students conduct interviews with people from all the country about their reasons for coming to Canindé. Analyzing various aspects of the pilgrimage, students come to a better understanding of the role of popular religion as well as the very problematic socio-economic situation in which many people find themselves.