The Symposium on Brazil began in 2015 as an initiative of Dr. Flavia Azeredo-Cerqueira. The event represents the beginning of a long term commitment in having Brazil, its language, history and culture represented on our campus. Each event is unique as it concentrates on diverse topics on Brazil and on the lusophone world.
This symposium includes ambassadors and attachés from lusophone embassies in Washington/DC, dignitaries from international organizations, distinguished faculty from American and foreign universities, researchers across a diverse array of academic fields, NGOs, and activists. The event has an interdisciplinary agenda which intends to promote interaction and networking between faculty and students in an informal environment. The highlight of the event is the undergraduate research poster session.
Amazonian Studies: Multidisciplinary Approaches
November 18 to 19, 2019
The third year of the symposium on Brazil was dedicated to studying the North region of Brazil, specifically the amazon rainforest in a multidisciplinary approach. The amazon rainforest is one of the three biomes part of the Legal Amazon (Amazonia legal). The Legal Amazon is the largest continuous tropical forest in the world and harbors 20 percent of the planet’s plant and animal species. Why is it so important to push the conversation about the Amazon? The rainforest is a vital global resource because of its role in storing carbon. Destroying it will cripple efforts to slow climate change. This conference gave us all a valuable opportunity to enhance our knowledge of the Legal Amazon, the rainforest, the native population and pressing issues around agro-business, cattle rangers and land distribution, while also providing a platform highlighting the relevance of the symbiotic relationship of the indigenous tribes and the forest, as well as the importance of the indigenous peoples in the formation of Brazilian culture, heritage and identity.
Speakers
- Dr. Beth A. Conklin, Vanderbilt University
- Dr. Douglas Morton, NASA Goddard
- Dr. Flavia Azeredo-Cerqueira
- Dr. Janet Chernela University of Maryland College Park
- Dr. Jeremy Campbell, Roger Williams University
- Dr. Robert Walker, University of Florida
- Dr. Nicole Labruto, Johns Hopkins University
- Dr. Túlio Zille, Johns Hopkins University