Affiliated Faculty

Edvan P. Brito

Assistant Professor of Portuguese

J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences

(WLLC)-World Languages, Literatures & Cultures

Dr. Edvan Brito received a B.A. in Portuguese and Linguistics from the University de São Paulo (USP), an M.A. in Mass Communication and Media Studies from Howard University, and also holds an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Georgetown University. His dissertation study focused on sociolinguistic variation, race/color, and stancetaking in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Brito has published peer-reviewed articles in the areas of variationist sociolinguistics, interactional sociolinguistics, and Portuguese as a foreign language. Currently, he is working on a reserch project that aims to replicate his dissertation study in other regions of Brazil by looking at the relationship among racial and place identities and language variation. He has also been studying the effect of telecollaborative technologies on foreign language learning.

Research Interests

Language and identity

Language variation and change

Discourse analysis

Portuguese as a foreign language

Comparative race relations in Brazil and the United States

Courses

Portuguese for Spanish Speakers I and II

Elemantary Portuguese I and II

Intermediate Portuguese I and II

Portuguese Conversation

Brazilian Cultural and Social Issues

Brazilian Cinema

Introduction to Luso-Afro-Brazilian Literature

Education

Ph.D. in Linguistics. Georgetown University. 2016.

M.S. in Linguistics. Georgetown University. 2013.

M.A. in Mass Communications and Media Studies. Howard University. 2010.

Graduate Certificate in International Studies. Howard University. 2010.

B.A. Portuguese and Linguistics. Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. 2006.

Publications

"“I love homosexuals like I love gangsters”: Epistemics and evidentiality in a Brazilian hybrid television news interview." Text & Talk, vol. 37 no. 5., 2017, pp. 561-585. (2017). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2017-0019.

"The variation of post-vowel –s in the Portuguese dialect of Rio de Janeiro." Cadernos de Estudos Linguísticos, vol. 58, no. 1, 2016, pp. 139-151.

"Grammatical gender in the interlanguage of English-speaking learners of Portuguese." Portuguese Language Journal, vol. 9, Article 7, 2015.

"Strategies of racial identity negotiation of Brazilian immigrants in the United States." Revista Multidisciplinar Acadêmica Vozes dos Vales, (Especial Issue “Brazil Abroad: Debates on Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture for Foreigners”), vol. 2, no. 4, 2013, pp. 1-13.

"Estudo comparativo das palavras-chave do campo das ações afirmativas no português brasileiro e no inglês americano [Comparative study of affirmative action keywords in Brazilian Portuguese and American English]". Plurais: Revista Multidisciplinar da UNEB, vol. 1, no 1, 2010, pp. 44-60.

"Comparative study of affirmative action keywords in Brazilian Portuguese and American English." Pictures and Mirrors: Race and Ethnicity in Brazil and the United States, edited by Vinícius R. Vieira and Jacquelyn Johnson, FEA/USP, 2009, pp. 265-289.

Experience

Assistant Professor of Portuguese, Defense Language Institute (DLIFLC), 2015-2016.

Visiting Instructor of Spanish and Portuguese, Dickinson College, 2014-2015.

Portuguese Linguistics Consultant, IBM, January-August 2014.

Portuguese Lecturer, Howard University, 2010-2014.

Distance Learning Instructor, Brazil Ministry of Education and Culture, 2006-2007.

Program Assistant (US-Brazil Exchange Program), Howard University, 2010-2013.

Graduate Assistant (International Programs and US-Brazil Exchange Program), Howard University Graduate School, 2008-2010.

Legal Word Processor Operator, São Paulo State Court of Justice, Brazil, 2006-2008.

Project Assistant/Researcher, Office of Communication and Education, USP School of Communication and Arts, Brazil, 2002-2004.

Postman, Brazilian Correios, 1997-2001.

Honors & Awards

New Faculty Commendation for Teaching Commitment. University of Arkansas Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center. 2017.

Joel Firmo de Meira Medal for Professional and Academic Achievement. City Hall of Xique-Xique, Bahia, Brazil. 2017.

Travel Assistance Program for Faculty. University of Arkansas Provost's Office. 2017.

Travel Assistance Program for Faculty. University of Arkansas Provost's Office. 2016.

Research Camp Fellowship. University of Arkansas. 2016

Startalk Portuguese Teacher Training Program Fellowship. US Department of Education. 2014.

Fulbright Program/ Luso-American Foundation Fellowship. Portuguese as a Foreign Language Teacher Training at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. 2012.

Race, Development and Social Inequality Exchange Program Fellowship. FIPSE-US/CAPES-Brazil. 2005.