Introduction

Portuguese is an international language--the sixth most widely spoken language in the world, with approximately two hundred million speakers of Portuguese throughout the world. Portuguese is spoken in Europe (Portugal); South America (Brazil); Africa (Cape Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Mozambique); and Asia (Macau, a territory of China, the Indian State of Goa, and East Timor). Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and the largest in the southern hemisphere, with an area of 8.514 million km2.

Brazil's cultural legacy has also attained worldwide recognition. Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestations such as Capoeira, Candomblé, and Carnival fascinate people all over the world and attracting a great deal of academic interest. Brazilian music alone promotes Brazilian culture globally, drawing attention from musicians and music lovers everywhere. Musical genres such as Bossa Nova, Samba, Forró, MPB, Chorinho, and Axé Music are among Brazil's most successful cultural exports. Brazilian intellectuals and artists have also made an impact internationally: Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed has exerted a tremendous influence on educational research and practice across the globe. The repertoires of composers Ernesto Nazareth, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Antônio Carlos Jobim have long been part of the world canon and are performed in concert halls worldwide. Authors such as Machado de Assis, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and Clarice Lispector (to cite just three of the major Brazilian literary laureates) produced world-renowed literature.

In global politics, Brazil has recently emerged as a leader of the economic block of developing nations. President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva has established liaisons with developing nations in recent visits to Africa and Asia. In the 2003 World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Brazil led the G-22 team of major agriculture producing nations in protesting against US and EU protectionist farm subsidies. Brazil has also been a leader of a global campaign against AIDS in developing countries. Dr. Paulo Roberto Teixeira, head of Brazil's successful AIDS program, was invited to be Director of the UN's World Health Organization's HIV Department.

Apart from their cultural vibrancy and natural splendor, Portuguese speaking countries also represent an increasing force in the global economy, in spite of the chronic economic problems they face. Portugal is a member of the European Union. Mozambique posted one of the largest economic growth rates of the 1990s. Brazil, a leading Mercosul member, is South America's strongest and most diversified economy (and among the world's largest economies). Brazil's export economy is particularly strong in agriculture, food processing, steel, aviation, machinery parts, footwear, textiles and lumber. The United States is Brazil's main business partner.

The program in Portuguese at Penn offers a range of courses in Portuguese language as well as in Brazilian culture, introducing students to the linguistic, historical, and cultural resources that will enable them to mine this rich field of study. The study of Portuguese language and Brazilian culture offers a fascinating route toward cross-cultural competency, preparing students for careers in business and finance, banking, economics, food sciences, biology, foreign affairs, international relations, education, healthcare, social services, agronomy, and technology.