Faculty Director Daniel Williams, who will lead Afro-descendant Identities in Cuba and Brazil, shares some of the distinct learning experiences that characterize this Fall 2025 program.
What inspired you to plan “Afro-Descendant Identities in Cuba & Brazil”? What did you hope to accomplish?
I’ve been intrigued with Brazil, and also Cuba, for literally decades. I was always interested in race, ethnicity, and national identity in unfamiliar contexts, and Brazil especially fit that. I also found it inherently interesting because it was so unfamiliar to North Americans. Almost no one learns Portuguese in the U.S. Similarly, Cuba has had a truly unique history among countries in the Western Hemisphere, and that includes its ability to significantly reduce racial inequality after the 1959 revolution. My hope with this program is to contrast these two “giants” that have been such unique and important places in Afro-Atlantic history, yet are so profoundly different. The focus of the program is on Black identities in place, so the idea is to cultivate a comparative perspective on Black identities across four different cities in two countries.
What makes this program different from other study abroad programs?
I believe this program is one of the few to focus on a diasporic community, or a community of descendants born out of exclusion, or in this case, enslavement. I think this offers a unique perspective; we are not only going to a country or place and studying the dominant culture. Instead, we’re looking at these places from the particular set of perspectives and experiences of Afro-descendants. As I mentioned above, it is also a two-country program, so it really lends itself to thinking about a set of questions or issues from a comparative perspective.
What does a typical day look like in your program?
Usually our weekdays will involve one academic activity and one site visit or presentation by an organization working on the issues we are studying. We will have lectures by local, in-country academics, at universities or academic institutes. Students will also take Portuguese classes in Brazil twice a week at a local language school, where they will get a chance to learn the language from local instructors. The “non classroom” activities will be very diverse, and include historical site and community visits, as well as presentations by organizations at various levels of society — governmental and NGOs, national and local organizations. There will also be local cultural activities that students can choose to participate in.
What does the housing situation look like, and what are the benefits of this living arrangement to students?
Students will be staying in host families and dormitory-style residences in both countries — depending on the city. I actually think this is ideal because it allows for a balance of autonomy — living in your own space — and the cultural experience of living in a local family’s home, where you can practice your language skills and learn so much about everyday life.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m most excited about the various site visits, places, and spaces that we will see and be in on this program–they include the expected things like activist organizations and some government agencies, but also musical performances, and community visits that really cannot be understood without being there. I expect that students will learn a lot and have a fantastic time doing it! And of course I also look forward to the discussions we will have about all of that.
What advice would you give students to encourage them to study abroad during their Carleton career? What benefits do you see to the experience in general?
I would recommend to every student to study abroad. I think it teaches you to see your own culture with greater clarity, but it also helps you become a better person, by going through the experience of being an outsider and becoming more aware of yourself.
