Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Program Chosen by the Portuguese Government to Host the Lídia Jorge Chair in Portuguese Studies

The Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Program in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts’ Department of Languages, Literatures and Culture, has been selected by the Portuguese government to host the Lídia Jorge Chair of Portuguese Studies. The signature of the agreement between UMass Amherst, the Camões - Institute for Cooperation and Language and the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) was celebrated at a Nov. 2 ceremony held in Lisbon hosted by Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva.

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At the event announcing the cooperation protocol, the presidents of Camões I.P. and FLAD highlighted in their remarks the importance of such an agreement to advance their cooperation with American universities, and to foster research and further academic collaborations between Portugal and the U.S.

UMass Amherst was one of the four U.S. institutions of higher education chosen by the Portuguese government to create three Portuguese language and culture courses because of its ongoing academic collaborations with Portuguese universities, the strategic importance of the Portuguese language in our region and the significant Portuguese speaking student population on campus.

Portuguese is the third-most spoken language in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, after English and Spanish, and there are important economic and cultural ties between Portuguese speaking communities in the region, Portugal and other Portuguese speaking countries in the word.

The Lídia Jorge Chair celebrates one of the most important female writers of Portugal, and it will allow the Portuguese and Brazilian studies program to host academic and cultural events, invite international scholars to campus and promote the Portuguese language and culture in New England.

In addition to UMass Amherst – whose candidacy was presented by Patricia Martinho Ferreira, lecturer in languages, literatures and cultures and Portuguese studies – Rutgers University—New Brunswick will host the Três Marias Chair and the University of Utah and Brigham Young University will co-host the Portuguese Language and Culture Chair.