Global Portuguese Studies
The program aims to foster a sense of innovation and diversity in course offerings and efforts to meet the needs of Wellesley students. With a special focus on Brazil, the largest country in South America and the 8th largest economy in the world, classes are designed to introduce students to the four continents that are home to the cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. Knowledge of these countries is paramount in a world where politics, economies and cultural lives are intrinsically internationalized.
Why Portuguese?
Spoken by more than 240 million people, Portuguese is the sixth most widely spoken language in the world and the third most used language on Facebook and Twitter.
Portuguese is one of the official languages of the European Union. It is spoken in Europe (Continental Portugal and the Portuguese archipelagos of Azores and Madeira), Africa (Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola and Mozambique), Asia (East Timor, Macau and Goa) and South America (Brazil). The United States is also host to large Portuguese, Brazilian and Cabo Verdean communities, especially in New England and California. An estimated 1.3 million native Portuguese-speakers live in the United States.
Portuguese is also the language of Bossa Nova, authors Clarice Lispector, Mia Couto, and Nobel Prize Winner José Saramago.
Portuguese classes at Wellesley are designed to introduce students to the four continents that are home to the cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. Knowledge of these countries is paramount in a world where politics, economies and cultures are intrinsically internationalized.