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Critical thinking and expression in a foreign language demonstrates mastery

not only over the language itself, but also on the resources and scholarship that exist
in that language as well as the skills necessary to synthesize sources from various
languages. Along those lines, the two cultural artifacts that Ive chosen to include are
a historical essay on Sao Paulo attitudes towards government and a shorter
persuasive essay on political and civic literacy.

The essay on Sao Paulo, called Paulista Exceptionalism and the Struggle for
Confederacy, traces the attitudes of Sao Paulo intellectuals as they lobbied for a
confederate style government in the months before the 1934 constitutional
convention. This paper required extensive primary source research in Portuguese; the
subsequent integration of these sources into a cohesive narrative is a fantastic
demonstration of the kind of critical thinking and expression that can be expected
from a Portuguese Major.

The second artifact included in this section is a persuasive essay on the


general ignorance of the American voting public. This one is interesting because it
integrates English language sources into a Portuguese paper. The importance of this
skill cannot be overstated. For example, a lot of future use of the language could
depend on taking English sources and adapting them in a way that makes sense to a
Portuguese speaking audience. This paper gave me the chance to practice that skill
in a meaningful way.

This particular skill has been helped by my primary major: history. Students of
history depend on being able to critically analyze source material and then weave
that material into a narrative that makes sense. The combination of history and
Portuguese studies allowed me to practice that aspect of research in a non-native
language, strengthening my research skills overall and giving me substantial practice
in the language. Its been a great time for language development while here at BYU.

The most immediate goal to continue developing skills in this area is graduate
work in history. As of this writing, Ive already been accepted into a variety of
graduate programs that would require me to continue to use my critical thinking and
expression skills. In short, it would be essentially the same as my current
undergraduate coursework, but with a lot more academic rigor. In addition to my own
graduate school plans, I intend to read a series of books by the historian Thomas
Skidmore on Brazilian history where he does the same thing Im trying to practice;
critical thinking and expression. Hopefully by continuing my studies on a more
advanced level I can further develop my skills in this area and become even more
proficient.

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