Fulbright scholars to start working in the Letters program
Photo: Mariana Haupenthal
March marks the arrival of three US scholars who will be working at the School of Humanities of PUCRS in 2018. They are fellows from the English Teaching Assistant – ETA program for institutional projects, offered by Capes in cooperation with the Fulbright program, a merit-based grant for international educational exchange.
Scholars Garret Eugene Tusler, from the University of Minnesota, Benjamin Brooks, from DePaul University, and Roger Antonio Tejada, from Bowdoin College, will be staying in Porto Alegre from Mar to Nov 2018. The plan is to enhance the language and cultural skills of Letters program students in English and, at the same time, improve the scholars’ Portuguese language skills and knowledge of Brazil. In addition to their teaching and research duties, the three scholars will be able to pursue individual study and research projects.
The Head Coordinator of the program at PUCRS, Dr Heloísa Orsi Koch Delgado, views the presence of international faculty as a means to foster the internationalization of the university, especially when it comes to internationalization at home. “This program includes mandatory and non-mandatory activities to help students develop intercultural skills and understand other realities and visions of world on their own campus. It also fosters the internationalization of the curriculum, which is regarded as a key factor for the internationalization at home”, says she.
ETA, which is intended to strengthen the ties between the USA and Brazil, is under the responsibility of the School of Humanities. The institution joined the program after the project O discente de Letras visto como agente propulsor da cidadania na educação básica (Student teachers of English as agents promoting civic consciousness in basic education) was accepted. The project was designed by professors Dr Aline Fay de Azevedo, Bárbara Elisa de Moraes Barros, Dr Cristina Perna, Débora Ardais and Dr Heloísa Orsi Koch Delgado.
Photo: Mariana Haupenthal
Garret Tusler, a native of Wisconsin, has now joined the Fulbright program for the second year in a row. In 2017, he lived in Maceió, in the state of Alagoas and, because he was interested in the Brazilian culture, he decided to apply for it one more time, as a mentor of the program in 2018. “I’m very excited about having the chance to experience the culture of the south of Brazil because I know it is very different to that of the Northeast. It’s like two different countries”, says he.
On the other hand, Benjamin Brooks, from Washington, expects to learn more about the traditions of Brazil and disseminate the US culture. “I’ve lived in Colombia for three years, so I’m very excited about this new opportunity in Latin America. Besides, I hope to connect to students as I plan to deliver workshops, talks and introduce a bit of the popular culture of my country”, says he.
Lastly, Roger Tejada, from New Jersey, is interested in the Afro- Latin American cultures and diaspora, which are topics he has studied in his training in America. Now, with the experiences to be gained in Brazil, he intends to compare the educational systems of both countries.
The number of Fulbright applicants in Brazil has tripled and now 120 US grantees are working in educational institutions all over the country. Not only will the program encourage the teaching of English, but also arouse the interest of Brazilians in cultural aspects.
Dr Aline Fay de Azevedo claims that the program opens the doors for the development and consolidation of a cosmopolitan mindset in students, as they will be open to diversity and demands of an interconnected world. “The role played by grammar will be secondary when compared to the possibilities of new academic perspectives on campus”, says she.
The scholars will be advised by the professors from the Letters program until the end of the year. Each one of them will have scheduled activities to perform in the courses taught by the Letters faculty in their undergraduate and graduate courses.
