Welcome to Harvard, Cristiane! You began your role as Senior Preceptor in Portuguese in Fall 2021 just as we transitioned back to in-person classes, after more than a year of remote learning. In your first semester with us, we have already seen a rise in students studying Portuguese. Tell us, why should students choose to learn Portuguese? And what should they know about Harvard´s Portuguese Program?
Thank you! Yes, this was a unique semester, but I am very happy to be part of the Harvard family. I had the opportunity to teach in person during my last semester at Tufts University, in Spring 2021, which was a great advantage, for sure. But starting a new job during the pandemic and knowing that our students and instructors would be experiencing teaching in-person for the first time under these circumstances certainly presented its challenges. Besides, I was particularly worried about advertising our program. I really wanted to let our students and Portuguese-speaking community at Harvard know that we were starting a new phase in the Portuguese program, full of opportunities for students to engage with the language in and out of the classroom. So, I was very pleased and excited to see our numbers double in the Fall. Thanks to the help of my colleagues, Josiah Blackmore and Bruno Carvalho, and two brilliant Brazilian PhD candidates, Eduarda Araujo and Ana Laura Malmaceda, who worked with me to create advertising videos and sites for our courses, we were able to give a new face to the program. Also, the support we received from DRCLAS and the Brazil office in São Paulo was crucial to help us advertise our courses.
The Portuguese Program is very dynamic and focuses on student interests, aiming to promote opportunities that will have long lasting impacts in students’ lives. Our redesigned curriculum offers courses that help students master the Portuguese language and learn about social, historical, and political aspects that shape our Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) cultures. Our goal is to see students become linguistically and culturally proficient, so they can use this knowledge in their personal and professional lives.
Why should students choose to learn Portuguese? Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language in the world and the third most spoken in Massachusetts. Students choose to take Portuguese because they are aware of the great impact the language can have in their future careers. Many have plans to work, study or research in Portuguese-speaking countries or to work with Portuguese-speaking communities in the United States. At Harvard, we are invested in creating a program that will prepare our students for their future endeavors, and our excellent team of instructors ensures we achieve this goal in every single course.
What were a few of the highlights from the Fall semester Portuguese Program that stick out in your mind?
Getting to know our students was probably one of the most exciting things this semester. I truly believe our love and appreciation for the Portuguese language and related cultures brought us together into a big, happy family. It is very important to me to visit classrooms and get to know as many students as I can. I was amazed to see the talent and commitment of our students, and I believe I had THE most wonderful, brightest group of students in my course PORTUG 40, Images of Brazil through Contemporary Cinema. My colleagues say the same about their students.
Another highlight of the semester was to work with my colleagues. Joe Blackmore and Bruno Carvalho are very supportive, which is essential for the success of the program. Our team of instructors is, however, the real gem of the program. Bené Cruz, Caio Esteves de Souza, Omar Salomão welcomed me to the program with open arms and did a terrific job in their classes.
Finally, one of my happiest moments was, without any doubt, the movie screening event of Marighella (Moura , 2019) with the presence of Maria Marighella (the granddaughter of Carlos Marihella) as our special guest. This event was a collaboration with DRCLAS (event recording available here) and also featured our dear Sidney Chalhoub as mediator (Departments of History and African and African-American Studies at Harvard). Maria was able to bring so much light and hope when talking about this dark and sad period of the Brazilian history (the military coup and dictatorship in Brazil) and for days after the event we had people writing to thank us and so say how impactful the event was. It was truly terrific!
Before joining Harvard, you coordinated the Portuguese Program at Tufts University for twelve years. Based on your experience, have you witnessed recent trends or innovations in Portuguese language teaching in the U.S.?
I think it is important to know that Portuguese programs and professionals are in sync with the most recent trends and innovations in foreign language acquisition and learning, so students will find the same quality in Portuguese as in any foreign language programs. One thing that has been unique to Portuguese in recent years is the growing number of public schools that have started to offer Portuguese. This is due, in part, to the increasing number of Brazilian immigrants in the region and, consequently, to the positive impact this population has in the economy and social life of these communities.
Another exciting trend, as I mentioned before, is the reason that has driven students to our programs. For a long time, students taking Portuguese were interested in visiting major cities for tourism purposes only, while others were learning the language because they had family or friends who spoke the language. Now, students are learning Portuguese mostly because they want to be lawyers, doctors, educators, social workers, researchers, psychologists - among many other professions - and they want to be able to communicate with their clients in Portuguese.
Beyond your work coordinating Harvard´s Portuguese courses and teaching, what are some of your research interests? Do you have any projects in the works you can tell us about?
My current research focus on the use of non-binary language in Portuguese. For any Romance language, the use of non-binary forms can be challenging. I truly believe, however, that it is our mission, as educators, to promote equal opportunities for all students, and that includes the right to feel welcomed, valued, and respected in our classrooms. This is a topic that finds some resistance, as one can imagine. Many who refuse to embrace the idea argue that our grammatical rules don’t allow for non-binary forms in Portuguese and explain that the linguistic challenges of using of non-binary forms (such as ile/elu instead of ele/ela) could present insurmountable challenges to speakers, making their adoption impossible. We should never forget that languages constantly evolve and that new forms are always being created. In my opinion, linguistic barriers should not impede educators from promoting social justice and inclusivity in their classrooms. Learning how to use new, non-binary forms will take time, research, and commitment, but it is completely worth it. I haven’t been this excited about a research project in a long time.
To learn more, access the Portuguese Program channels:
Interview conducted by Tiago Genoveze, Program Manager, Brazil Studies Program
 | Spring Flyer - Portuguese Program.pdf | 1.09 MB |