Magda Silva

Other Committees ; My participation in the Duke Brazil Initiative will respond to a growing number of students requesting Duke-sponsored programs in Brazil as well as The Portuguese Program development of a Luso-Brazilian studies program. Brazil has been in the world economic spotlight in the past years which has sparked the interest in Portuguese and Brazilian issues. The Duke Luso-Brazilian Studies program is part of the Department of Romance Studies and comprises both language teaching and courses on Lusophone culture and civilization. These courses are interdisciplinary and are cross-listed with other departments and programs such as African and African-American Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Western European Studies, and Comparative Area Studies. The Portuguese Program at Duke is in a rapid process of growth now that the world’s focus has turned to Brazil. In the past year, the Trinity School of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Romance Studies have devoted considerable resources in the Portuguese Program. In addition to its natural interest to beginning students of Portuguese, the Duke Brazil Initiative will encourage students to continue to pursue a course of study in our Portuguese Language Program and it will prepare them to pursue the job market in Brazil. For these mentioned reasons I consider the Duke Brazil Initiative essential to offering our students an on-site linguistic, cultural, and work- related experience to complement the on-site Duke academic experience.

Projeto ÍCONE aims to establish a live online connection with professors and students at Duke University and two prestigious Brazilian universities: Universidade Federal do Pará and Centro Universitário do Pará. As the creator and director of Projeto ÍCONE I designed it to be part of the Portuguese Program curriculum. This project provides cultural exchange and enrichment through a means of technology that allows students to grow in the target language. From this unique opportunity grows a once in a lifetime opportunity of life-long learning for several students in both countries. The mission ÍCONE Duke-UFPA-CESUPA is to give our students the opportunity to have international partners in education. The project provides an experience of a multicultural exchange; gives our students the experience of being immersed in their language of study and acquire real life language skills; it grants an opportunity for life-long and global learning.

Curriculum Innovations ; The Luso-Brazilian studies major will involve intermediate and advanced language study, courses on Brazilian literature and culture taught in Portuguese, and other courses that students may choose from diverse areas including Global Health, the Nicholas School, History, African and African-American Studies, Anthropology, the Sanford School, and other disciplines. The importance of the study of Portuguese is evident from the breadth of the Lusophone world, which includes Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape-Verde, and East-Timor. Brazil is, however, the focal point of our globally-oriented major. The world’s fifth largest country, both in size and population, and the sixth largest economy, Brazil deserves our attention for an array of reasons, among them: - Economic growth: Brazil ranks with China and the Middle East in emerging economic centrality to global affairs. This trend is likely to continue. - Human and cultural diversity: in addition to descendants from Europe, Africa, and native Brazilians, Brazil counts a large population of more recent world immigrants. São Paulo, for instance, is home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan. In addition, Brazil also has the largest number of isolated indigenous tribes in the world. - Political centrality: After cycles of political turmoil and dictatorships, Brazil has enjoyed political stability for nearly three decades and is now one of the world’s largest democracies. The deepening of Brazil’s democracy is demonstrated not just by the rise of a factory worker to the presidency (President Lula 2002-2010) but, more importantly, by the reduction of extreme poverty and the steady growth of the middle class in the previous decade. - Critical biodiversity: the Amazon is the world’s largest and most crucial reservoir of environmental diversity. Brazil is in the spotlight for discussions of environmental conservation, green development, and climate change worldwide. These reasons underscore why Brazil represents an increasingly vital area of strategic interest for the U.S. Our Luso-Brazilian studies major will innovate in connecting Brazilian language and culture to the full array of disciplinary and experiential learning opportunities at Duke. The major’s flexible structure will allow students to follow creative pathways and to take full advantage of Duke’s humanities labs, Duke engage, and study abroad programs. We see Romance Studies’ Luso-Brazilian majors as a future force for partnering with Duke faculty and staff in expert engagement in Brazil initiatives.

Curriculum Innovations ; Below is a short description of the Mission Statement as it is in my proposal to the Global Education Office. To immerse students in the Portuguese language and engage them in cultural, civics, social, educational, and environmental issues. Students will experience and reflect on the causes and consequences of these pillars that have formed contemporary Brazil. They will develop an across the board perspective of Brazil’s particular issues and understand their own global citizenship. --- Course BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE Covers the intermediate language curriculum, developing aural comprehension, speaking, reading and writing skills. Provides grammar practice and development of effective strategies for oral communication done in conjunction with intensive cultural program activities and excursions. --- CULTURAL AND SOCIAL COMPONENTS: Understand cultural and social activism in Brazil. We will visit NGOs that engage in civics, citizen’s rights, education, and cultural issues. We will learn about their leadership and investigate what the public system and the NGOs are missing in the overall Brazilian educational system. --- ENVIRONMENTAL COMPONENT: Experience first-hand the Amazon environmental problems by visiting NGOs that contribute to sustainable development, social and civics inclusion. Our goal is to expose students to the wide range of difficulties involved in the long-term ecological balance of the world’s largest tropical forest.

Curriculum Innovations ; PROJETO ICONE Director of Projeto ÍCONE. This project aims to further establish a connection with the teachers and students at Duke University and Universidade Federal do Pará. This project provides cultural exchange and enrichment through a means of technology that allows students to grow in the target language. From this unique opportunity grows a once in a lifetime opportunity of life-long learning for several students in both countries. The objective of ÍCONE Duke-UFPA is to give our students in elementary and intermediate levels the opportunity to have an international partner in education. The project provides an experience of a multicultural exchange; gives our students the experience of being immersed in their language of study and acquire real life language skills; it grants an opportunity for life-long and global learning. Duke University and UFPA students meet virtually every Friday during class time in the spring semester.