Vamos la Brasil!

Introduces students to the history and current-day cultural products and practices of the largest Portuguese-speaking nation, Brazil. Topics include Carnival, soccer, popular music forms, modern architecture and economy.

College Connections Faculty: Simone DaSilva

Simone C DaSilva has been an instructor at the University of Oregon in Eugene since 2007 when the university first started to offer Portuguese courses as part of its language offerings. Simone holds a B.A. in English and American Literature, an M.A. in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies and is also ABD in the same field. Besides her literature background and focus on language teaching, Simone’s current work and interests include Brazilian and Latin American Contemporary Cinema, questions of gender and identity, the urban environment and its effects on modern subjects. She also enjoys poetry, photography, culinary arts, and music!


FIG Assistant: Emily Andrade

Emilly Andrade has been a student at the University of Oregon for a year, and she is originally from Brazil. She is the new FIG assistant for Vamos Lá Brasil! FIG and she is currently studying journalism and dreams of working in a fashion magazine in the future. She grew up in Japan, and she speaks three languages fluently. Emilly enjoys dancing and photography, and her interests include learning languages and computer science!

Summer Assignment:

Read the following two articles. They talk about the Summer Olympics that are happening in Rio this summer, and discuss the insights and predictions:

File Vamos_la_Brasil_-_Brazil's_2016_Olympics_Already_Face_Hurdles_and_Critics.pdf

File Vamos_la_Brasil_-_What_the_Olympics_Means_for_the_People_of_Rio.pdf

After the Olympics conclude, find another article that talks about the aftermath of the games in Rio, and compare it with these articles.

Also, write about the five best and five worst aftermaths of the Olympics in Rio. Also, be ready to discuss your opinion of the games and of Rio after watching some of the games.

Finally, email Emilly at emillys@uoregon.edu to let her know your name, your interests (academically, or anything you're interested in, like movies, music, etc), basically to introduce yourself! This is a chance for us to get to know you, and for you to ask questions about classes or the university. Don't hesitate to reach out!

Week of Welcome:

Our FIG will meet on Friday, September 23rd at 11 AM in Columbia 150! Please arrive around 10 minutes early, as we will be moving to another location shortly after 11!

Are you looking for future classes related to your FIG?

The courses below are related to the focus of your FIG and are a great way to keep exploring the subject matter that you dove into your first term at the UO. Many of these courses satisfy general education requirements.

  • PORT 102: First Year Portugese
  • LAS 211: Latin America Poverty & Cinema
  • HIST 248: Latinos in Americas
  • HIST 381: Latin America
  • PS 330: Governments & Politics of Latin America