São Paulo – The online extension course Brazil and Palestine: Sources of identification will open registration on February 27, with twelve classes being held from March 9 to June 1. The course organized by Brazil’s University of São Paulo (USP), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and University of Brasília (UnB) and Palestine’s Birzeit University and Al Quds University is the result of academic missions organized by the Representative Office of Brazil in Ramallah aimed to establish an academic cooperation between universities from both countries.
The classes will be held once a week by different professors from Brazil and Palestine on topics such as refugees, diaspora, political parties, apartheid, and perspectives for the future, addressing social issues where parallels with the Brazilian reality can be drawn.
“The distinct histories, social and religious compositions, and current conditions that characterize Brazil and Palestine do not obscure the sentiment of identification that frequently stems from the encounter between them. This course will seek to elucidate and reflect on the possible sources of this feeling of closeness and identification: texts, novels, stories and the life depicted in them, or social issues that find expressions of similarity. Issues such as the permanence of small rural producers on the land, urban migrations, the dynamics of forced displacement in the face of ethnic cleansing, and real estate speculation, will also be addressed. Each topic will be taught by a different professor, in his or her field of research,” the course description reads.
Some class topics will be history of Palestine, history of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, the Palestinian diaspora, and the presence of Arab culture in Brazil.
The course is free of charge and open to the broader community. The classes will be taught in English and held once a week, every Thursday, with two hours of duration. Participation certificates will be issued by the Faculty of Humanities of the University of São Paulo for the enrolled students who attend at least 70% of the classes, and there will be no exam.
Participating professors will be Adnan Abdelrazek, Adriana Testa, Ahmad Amara, Alberto Musa, Bashir Bashir, Izzat Zeidan, Kelli Mafort, Muna Odeh, Sa’d Nimr, Safa Jubran, Samer Abdelnour, Selma Dabbagh, Tahani Mustafa, Wail Hassan, Yusuf Natsheh. The course is coordinated by professor Arlene Clemesha.
For more information, please visit this link or email brazilandpalestinecourse@gmail.com.
Quick facts
Course “Brazil and Palestine: Sources of identification”
March 9 to June 1
Every Thursday
Enrollment opens on February 27
Find out more
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
