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Visiting Scholars Program

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Center for Brazil Studies

Visiting Scholars Program

Visiting Scholars Program Header
Photo Credit: Xiaochi Ge- The Daily

As part of its growing interest in Brazil, the University of Oklahoma (OU) is proud to announce an innovative Visiting Scholars Program focused on scholars, graduate students, and practitioners working in all areas of Brazil’s social, economic, political, and institutional development. The program will be coordinated and led by Dr. Fabio de Sa e Silva and Dr. Michelle Morais, faculty members at the OU Daiv L. Boren College of International Studies and co-directors of OU’s Brazil Studies Program.

About the Program

A cohort of up to 10 Scholars will be selected for each academic year. These Scholars will have access to OU’s libraries and facilities and will participate in a biweekly “Brazil Studies Forum”, where they will have a chance to present their work-in-progress to peers and receive feedback from OU faculty members. They may also audit up to two classes each semester and be asked to contribute to Brazil-related activities on campus.

  • The program fee is US$3,000 per Visiting Scholar per semester. The fee covers expenses with program management, materials and handouts, guest speaker honoraria, receptions, mentoring, certification, and J1 visa-processing services.
  • Scholars are eligible to OU housing ($2,813 per person per semester) and meal plans, which should make their stay in Norman extremely affordable.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for a formal phone interview. Selected candidates will receive an invitation by mid-May (Fall intake) and late-September (Spring intake).

 

About the College of International Studies

he David L. Boren College of International Studies (CIS) was officially created in January 2011 as a reflection of President David Boren’s vision of advancing international educational opportunities for all OU students.  Today CIS houses the Dean’s Staff, the academic Department of International and Area Studies, the Office of Education Abroad, the Office of International Student Services, the OU in Arezzo Study Center and a number of other international institutes and centers.  Together, these various offices, departments and centers work to provide a range of opportunities for students to learn about the global community in which they live.

Core Values

  • OU community and CIS family
  • Global engagement, citizenship and fluency
  • Cultural respect and tolerance
  • Curiosity and lifelong learning

Vision
To be a national center of excellence and innovation for international education.

Our Mission Statement
The mission of the David L.Boren College of International Studies is to expand the OU international experience and develop compassionate, open minded citizens and leaders by enhancing global engagement and educational opportunities.

About the David L. Boren College of International Studies

Farzaneh Hall

The David L. Boren College of International Studies (CIS) was officially created in January 2011 as a reflection of President David Boren’s vision of advancing international educational opportunities for all OU students.  Today CIS houses the Dean’s Staff, the academic Department of International and Area Studies, the Office of Education Abroad, the Office of International Student Services, the OU in Arezzo Study Center and a number of other international institutes and centers.  Together, these various offices, departments and centers work to provide a range of opportunities for students to learn about the global community in which they live.

Core Values

  • OU community and CIS family
  • Global engagement, citizenship and fluency
  • Cultural respect and tolerance
  • Curiosity and lifelong learning

Vision
To be a national center of excellence and innovation for international education.

Our Mission Statement
The mission of the David L.Boren College of International Studies is to expand the OU international experience and develop compassionate, open minded citizens and leaders by enhancing global engagement and educational opportunities.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma just 20 mins. south of Oklahoma City. OU enrolls over 30,000 students and has more than 2700 full-time faculty members in 21 colleges.

About Norman, Oklahoma

Norman, OK

 

The city of Norman is a thriving college town with a population of almost 120,000. Norman is home to a number of annual events that bring the town together to enjoy locally made art, music and food. With a thriving music scene, the Norman Music Festival is held in historic downtown each Spring, featuring artists like Ra Ra Riot, Cloud Nothings and Caleb McGee. Each month, residents can browse shops, art galleries and local restaurants at the Second Friday Art Walk. Campus Corner, located conveniently next to the OU’s Campus, features boutique shopping and delicious restaurants offering a variety of food, including specialty chocolates, authentic Vietnamese food, locally roasted coffee and homemade pasta dishes.

For those who enjoy the great outdoors, Norman boasts a number of parks such as Legacy Trail, where residents can run, walk or bike alongside historic artwork; Sutton Wilderness, a wooded area that is ideal for trail running; or Lion’s Park, where residents are welcome to participate in weekly ‘Yoga in the Park’ classes. Named a Bicycle Friendly City, Norman has a thriving community of cyclists and hosts the annual “Norman Conquest” bike ride. View the artwork of Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet and an impressive collection of Native American art free of charge at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, located on OU’s stunning campus. Also named one of the “Top College Sports Towns” by Forbes magazine, enjoy tailgating and a variety of activities across town on game days! Boomer Sooner!

Current Scholars

Ana Laura picture

Ana Laura Becker Aguiar is a Visiting Scholar (not in residence) with the OU Center for Brazil Studies and a PhD candidate in Law at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She holds an M.S in Gender from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), an M.A. in International Law and Human Rights from the UN-mandated University for Peace (Upeace), and a B.A in International Relations from the University of Brasilia (UnB). Ms Becker Aguiar has worked in international organizations such as the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the Inter-American Development Bank, and Unesco.

In 2013, she became a Social Policy Analyst for the Federal Government, where she worked for the Ministry of Citizenship and the President’s office. More recently, she joined the research team of Dr. Michelle Morais, assisting with her research on human rights bureaucrats. Ana Laura’s doctoral research focuses on the permeability of international law to the demands of the Brazilian women´s movement, especially by looking at negotiations at the IV United Nations Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995.

 

Fabio Picture

 

Fabio Rezende Braga is a visitant scholar at the OU Center for Brazil Studies and a doctoral student in Human Rights at the Law School, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). He holds a Master's Degree in Social Environmental Law at PUC-PR (Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná). His doctoral research addresses vulnerability and social justice in Law, looking at vulnerability as resistance from a broader construction of citizenship. The concept of vulnerability is innovative in the field of Law and brings theoretical elements that could help reshape the way the legal system looks at inequalities.

Past Scholars

Ana Farranha Scholar

Ana Claudia Farranha - Visiting Scholar from March to September 2022. Graduated in Law (UFES -1991), Master in Political Science (UNICAMP - 1999), and Ph.D. in Social Sciences (UNICAMP - 2006). She is an Associate Professor at the Law School of the University of Brasília (UnB). Ana Claudia is also a professor at the Graduate Program in Law at UnB (PPGD) and a Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Government and Public Administration (CEAG/UnB).

Member of the Executive Committee of the Brazilian Network of Women Scientists (RBMC) and former director of the Brazilian Society of Public Administration (SBAP/2021). The main research topics are Public Policy Analysis; Rights of Access to Public Information, racial and discrimination issues; Law and Public Policy. She will develop the research project “Rights of access to public information in Brazil and the USA: an institutional context for black people”, with a grant from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Distrito Federal (FAP/DF)

 

Elaine Scholar

Elaine Licio is a Visiting Scholar for the Spring 2022 school year. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brasilia University (UNB, 2012), a MA in Public Affairs and Government from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (EAESP/FGV – 2002) and a BA of Laws from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC/SP - 1997), Brazil). 

Elaine has been a public policy and government management specialist in the Brazilian government since 2002 and is currently working at Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), Brazil. Her studies focus on social policies and intergovernmental relations. While at OU, she will conduct field research to understand United States welfare policies mobilized to face Covid-19 pandemic, especially those related to cash transfers. 

 

Eduardo Gomor

Eduardo Gomor was the Visiting Scholar for the 2019-2020 school year. He earned his bachelor degree in Public Administration (1997) and later obtained a Masters degree in the same field (2008), with the thesis “Formulation of Cultural Policies: Incentive Laws and the Living Culture Program”. Eduardo gain his Doctorate of Social Policy (2017), with the thesis: “Hip Hop and Latin America: relations between culture, aesthetics and emancipation”, from the cases of Brazil, Cuba and Colombia. 

Eduardo has been a planning and budget analyst in the Brazilian government since 2011, and is currently working in the Cabinet of Presidency at the National School of Public Management – ENAP. His current research themes are the Brazilian issues of “Structural Racism, Neoliberalism and Necropolitcs” and “Black female peripherical rappers in São Paulo.”

Marcelo Reis

Marcelo Reis was the Visiting Scholar for the 2018-2019 academic school year. Marcelo’s academic history has been focused on studying international relations and law. Marcelo has earned Bachelor's degrees in international relations (University of Brasilia- 1998) and legal studies (Federal District University- 1999) as well as LLM degrees in International Law (Groningen University, the Netherlands-2002, UniCEUB-2005). 

While at OU, Marcelo conducted research in collaboration with local professors that resulted in the paper “Revisiting the Brazilian aversion to the state-investor clause: state capitalism and treaty-shopping” (title translated). He is now a PhD candidate in law at University Center of Brasília and works at the Special Secretariat for Foreign Trade and International Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of the Economy. 

 

Elizabete Pellegrini - Visiting scholar

Elizabete Pellegrini is the Visiting Scholar for the Spring to Fall 2021 school year. She is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil, and a member of the Laboratory of Studies on Politics and Criminology (PolCrim), Brazil. She holds a MA in Political Science (UNICAMP, 2018) and a BA in legal studies (Mackenzie University, 2014).   

Her studies focus on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods and other innovations produced by justice reform policies in contemporary democratic states. In her Ph.D. thesis, she has investigated gender inequality in the context of ADR practices within justice systems in Brazil and the United States. While at OU, she will conduct field research to understand how different professionals understand the benefits and challenges of using alternative methods to deal with domestic violence cases in Oklahoma.     

Apply

Applications will be received on a rolling basis.

All prospective Visiting Scholars must submit an application form (below) and the following supporting materials:

The U.S. State Department requires that OU ensure that visitors’ English language proficiency will permit day-to-day functioning and allow for a productive experience while here. Preference is given to applicants with standardized test scores equivalent to the TOEFL 100/250/600 range.

Applicants with no standardized test scores may instead provide English-proficiency certification from their home institutions. If you are not reporting a test score as part of your application, you may list the name of an institution that will certify your English proficiency if you are selected. Applicants who have completed one or more academic degrees in the Anglo-American world need no certification.