FLAS Summer Competition 2008

The Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies (CLAIS) at Vanderbilt University announces its annual Foreign Language and Area Studies summer grant competition for 2008. Five awards, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, will be made to students who plan to study Portuguese or a Mayan language over the summer. Award recipients usually travel to Brazil, Guatemala, or Mexico for an intensive summer immersion program; awards cover tuition, a living stipend and airfare. Eligibility is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents. Applications and further information are available from the CLAIS office (Buttrick 230), VU Station B 351806, Nashville, TN, 37235; they are also available on the Center’s homepage. For further information e-mail contact Professor Susan Berk-Seligson, Associate Director of Graduate Studies. susan.berk-seligson@vanderbilt.edu The deadline for applications is February 8, 2008 and awards will be announced in mid March.

Download the application here: FLAS Summer 2008 Application.rtf

FLAS Summer 2006

James Krause received the FLAS award for Summer 2006 and spent seven weeks studying advanced Portuguese and culture in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He participated in a program through the University of Florida at the Instituto Brasil Estados Unidos in Copacabana. Although he had been studying Portuguese for over six years, he was able to solidify his linguistic and cultural understanding of Brazil by living with a host family, visiting numerous cultural sites, and being in the classroom for 25 hours a week. Although the primary purpose of the Foreign Language and Area Studies grant is for language and cultural instruction, James was also able to slip in some research time for his dissertation on the development of Brazilian fantastic literature by meeting with current authors and scholars. Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful city with amazing people and James is indeed grateful for this experience provided through Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies.

FLAS Summer 2005

The Center awarded three FLAS fellowships for summer travel to Brazil and for intensive study of Portuguese. The pool of applicants was very competitive for these $6,000 awards. Applicants included students from Anthropology, LAS, Spanish and Portuguese, and the joint degree MBA/LAS. Funded were Bryan Pitts (LAS), Jonathan Sewell (LAS), and David LaFevor (History).

Funding

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Center three Foreign Language Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships for Portuguese language in the amount of $279,000 for 2003-2006. These fellowships offer an academic year stipend of $14,000 and a tuition award of $11,000.

Summer Programs

For a list of eligible programs, consult the website of the Consortium in Latin American Studies programs (www.claspprograms.org), clicking on "Language Instruction."