Affiliates : The Watson Institute for International Studies

A-Z Index

Africana Studies
This Department focuses on the Africana experience in the Americas and beyond, and offers courses in the culture and society of the United States, Brazil, the Caribbean, and various regions of Africa. Originally, named the Afro-American Studies Program, it was renamed Africana Studies two years ago and given departmental status.
Center for Latin American Studies
The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) at Brown University, now in its twenty-first year, offers a flexible, multidisciplinary undergraduate concentration that promotes an understanding of the culture, history, and contemporary problems of Latin America. Currently, its program includes 35 faculty with a major interest in the region. CLAS works closely with Brown’s language programs, especially Hispanic Studies and the Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies.
East Asian Studies
East Asian Studies coordinates at Brown all training in the languages and cultures of East Asia—Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. A core faculty is concerned primarily with language instruction, with affiliated Brown faculty members teaching courses in the humanities and social sciences, including history, political science, comparative literature, religious studies, sociology, and the history of art.
International Health Institute (IHI)
Now in its fourteenth year, the International Health Institute (IHI) focuses its efforts on improving the health of the worlds population, especially in developing countries, and fostering the exchange of health expertise between health professionals in the United States and developing nations.
Judaic Studies
The Program serves as an interdisciplinary focus for studies of Jews and Judaism, including historical, religious, sociological, political, and philosophical perspectives and approaches. Its geographic focus is on Israel, Latin America, the United States, and western Europe.
Middle East Studies
The Middle East Studies concentration is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and comparative study of the region with appreciation for its variety of cultural interactions and influences. Several approaches to the study of the region are possible: social science, religious studies, humanities, history, or a combination of these. In 2003, five concentrators received B.A.s; one was magna cum laude.
Office of International Programs (OIP)
This office serves the Brown community by providing undergraduates the opportunity to study abroad, administering the University’s own programs in other countries, and maintaining Brown’s agreements with universities overseas by supporting faculty and student research and instructional exchange visits. The office advises students studying abroad and works to promote the internationalization of Brown’s curriculum.
Population Studies and Training Center
This interdisciplinary Center, with core faculty from various departments throughout the university, including sociology, economics, anthropology, community health, and epidemiology, engages Brown faculty members and researchers in social demography, economic demography, anthropological demography, and population health.
Portuguese and Brazilian Studies
Portuguese and Brazilian Studies concentrates on the global nature of the Portuguese-speaking world, emphasizing continental and insular Portugal, Brazil, Lusophone Africa, and Luso-America. The Department’s programs use humanities and social science skills to arrive at a deeper understanding of this community.
Slavic Studies
This concentration integrates the study of the languages, literatures, and civilizations of the Slavic world. The Department encourages students to develop in-depth knowledge of East European civilizations and cultures, which they interpret within a multidisciplinary course of study. Concentrators are encouraged to study abroad in a Slavic country during the academic year or summer months.
South Asian Studies
Concentrators in South Asian Studies emphasize one or more aspects of this broad field. They may work primarily in a given chronological period (e.g. ancient, medieval, early modern, or contemporary), in a given geographical area (e.g. Bangladesh, Bengal, Maharashtra, North India, Pakistan, South India), or in a given discipline (e.g. anthropology, Hindi/Urdu, history, religion, or Sanskrit). In 2003, four seniors received B.A. degrees; two were magna cum laude.