The Portuguese Program and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute are pleased to announce the 2024 PORT-LACSI Brazilian Studies Travel Grant, which will cover travel expenses for UGA graduate students conducting research or presenting academic work on Brazil-related topics between April 1 and June 30, 2024.

Fill out the application form and submit your preliminary or final travel documentation by Friday, April 12, at 5:00 p.m.

Important: Grant recipients must submit their final travel documentation by June 1, 2024, to get paid.

Please stop by our table this Saturday, April 6, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the 25th International Street Festival at College Square (Downtown)! 

This year, we are fortunate to have Brazilian percussion instructors Tony Oscar and Bill Lucas joining us from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. to share some pro percussion tips with the audience. 

On April 5th at 7:30 p.m. in Ramsey Hall in the Performing Arts Center, the Latin American Music Ensemble, led by Jean Kidula (Department of Music), will interpret Argentine music. The event is free and will have dancers from the UGA Tango Club. A reception will follow the concert.

If you have a chance this spring, swing by the Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden and have a whiff of these two flowers.

Trillium cuneatum
Several species of Trillium contain chemical compounds called sapogenins that have been used medicinally through the ages as astringents, coagulants, expectorants, and uterine stimulants. This is evidenced in common names given to some trilliums, such as birthwort and Indian balm.

USDA Forest Service. "Trilliums." Available at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/trilliums/about.shtml. Accessed 29 March 2024.
 
Asimina triloba
 Paw paws are often referred to as "America's forgotten fruit" due to their relative obscurity despite being native to North America and having a long history of cultivation by Native American tribes (Moore, 2015). They are primarily pollinated by beetles and flies, which should give you a clue to their scent. In early fall, look out for their yellowish fruits that have a sweet custard taste.
 
-Nunally Benzing (LAEG Curator)

On Saturday, March 16, the LAE Garden Advisor, Paul Duncan, had a group of 12 UGA students weeding and pruning at the garden from 10:30 am - 1:00 pm. In words of Duncan, it was a "great group of hard-working ladies." 

The activity was part of the garden's patnership with Serve UGA and Engagement, Leadership, and Service, during the university's largest annual day of service—Dawg Day of Service (DDOS) —. Serve UGA promotes students' engagement in service in Athens-Clarke County, encouraging them to develop service-mindedness as citizens and community members.

Kudos to Prof. Carolina Acosta-Alzuru's , a professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and LACSI Core Faculty at the University of Georgia, for receiving the Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award to conduct research in Turkey, furthering her work studying Turkish television dramas. 

"Distinguished Scholar Awards are considered the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. The awards are annually open to scholars with more than seven years experience in their discipline area(s)."

Please join us in congratulating Prof. Melisa Cahnmann-Taylor, Professor in the Department of Language and Literacy Education, Mary Frances Early College of Education, and LACSI Core Faculty, for being honored with the University of Georgia’s highest award for teaching, the Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professorship.

"Prof. Cahnmann-Taylor brings a passion for language education and creativity to her classes. Through her teaching, research and writing, she helps future educators learn how to incorporate poetry, art and theatre into their instruction."

Jean Costa-Silva, a Ph.D. Candidate in Linguistics and completing his Graduate Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies has received The Graduate School Excellence in Teaching Award. The award is administered in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning and the UGA Teaching Academy. No more than five recipients are awarded every year.

The selection recognizes a record of distinguished service to the instructional mission of the university while pursuing a rigorous program of study as a graduate student. Well done, Jean!