Cultural Competence

Understanding culture is a major part of being a Portuguese major, because language and culture are always connected. Throughout my time at BYU, I have had many chances to learn more about cultural products and cultural practices in the Portuguese-speaking world. For this section of my portfolio, I chose two artifacts that show my growth in those areas. One is a paper I wrote on Gregório de Matos’s poem O Poeta Descreve a Bahia, and the other is a lesson plan I created about Tiradentes in Brazil. I chose these artifacts because together they show that I can engage with culture both through literary texts and through traditions and public memory. The first artifact I chose to show my understanding of cultural products is my paper on Gregório de Matos. In that paper, I analyze how his poem presents Bahia in a critical and satirical way. Writing this essay helped me see that literature can say a lot more than what first appears on the surface. Gregório de Matos is not just describing a place. He is also criticizing corruption, social inequality, and hypocrisy in colonial Brazilian society. Looking closely at the poem helped me better understand how a literary work can reflect the historical, political, and social realities of its time. It also helped me see that there can be multiple interpretations of the same text. A reader can see the poem as social criticism, political criticism, or a more general commentary on human behavior. This artifact shows that I can read Portuguese literature in a deeper way and connect it to a broader cultural context.

The second artifact I chose to show my understanding of cultural practices is my lesson plan on Tiradentes. This artifact focuses on a Brazilian holiday and the way it is remembered and taught. Through this lesson plan, I explored who Tiradentes was, why he became such an important national figure, and how people in Brazil commemorate him today. This helped me understand that culture is not only found in books, but also in the ways people remember history, celebrate national identity, and pass down traditions. It also showed me that cultural practices are not always experienced in the same way by everyone. Different regions, communities, and people may view a holiday differently. For example, the memory of Tiradentes may feel stronger in some places than in others, and people may emphasize different meanings connected to the holiday. This artifact shows that I can think about culture as something lived and practiced, not just studied. As a Portuguese major at BYU, I feel that I have developed a better ability to understand culture in a more complete way. I have learned how to read texts more carefully, how to connect literature to historical and social context, and how to recognize that culture is rarely simple or one-sided. I have also learned how important it is to be open to different interpretations and different cultural experiences. My classes have helped me grow not only in my language ability, but also in my ability to think more critically about Brazilian and Portuguese culture. Creating essays and lesson plans like these has helped me become more thoughtful in the way I approach cultural topics. In the future, I want to continue developing these skills by studying Portuguese-language literature, history, and culture more deeply. I also want to continue improving as someone who can teach and explain cultural ideas to others. Whether that is through graduate school, teaching, or other experiences, I want to keep using Portuguese in ways that help me better understand people, history, and society. These artifacts represent some of the growth I have had so far, and they also reflect the kind of work I want to keep doing in the future.