Penn State students explore Portugal’s vibrant culture and politics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nearly 100 Penn State students spent their spring breaks traveling the globe through five College of the Liberal Arts embedded programs, which are Penn State courses taken on campus or online that include a short-term international travel component. The students saw the classroom come to life by visiting historical and cultural sites and interacting with local people.

Eleven students enrolled in GLIS 400Y traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, as part of the Global Portugal embedded program in the College of the Liberal Arts. The course, taught by Krista Brune, associate professor of Portuguese and Spanish, and Dayse Bede, assistant teaching professor of Portuguese, allowed students to learn Lisbon's history, politics and globalized culture in its place of origin. 

“Embedded in a global and international studies course, the trip helps students develop their understanding of Portugal as a global and globalized nation, despite its comparatively small size,” Brune said. “Students can see the layers of history — the influences of Phoenicians, Romans, Germanic tribes and Muslims — that shaped the development of the city of Lisbon and the country of Portugal.”

For some students, the trip to Lisbon was their first time traveling outside the country. For others who consider themselves well-versed in traveling, like Emily Shiels, a fourth-year student majoring in global and international studies and geography, the trip served as yet another bucket list item checked off.

“This trip was my third embedded program at Penn State, and once I saw there was a global and international studies offering, I started to figure out how to make it work,” the Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar said. “Experiential learning is essential to truly understanding the ins and outs of a country and its people. Any confusion I had from topics in class was alleviated once I got to experience the city in person.”

During the trip, students visited a Portuguese university, took a downtown Lisbon walking tour, visited early modern Portuguese architectural sites, hunted down local street art, walked through Portuguese castles and ruins, visited contemporary museums, took day trips to the historic Lisbon neighborhood Alfama and the nearby town Sintra, explored key sites for Portugal's postcolonial reality and listened to guest lectures by Portuguese scholars and writers.

“I enjoyed Alfama — the streets are very narrow and steep. It felt like a maze that you wouldn't want to make your way out of,” Shiels said. “Everywhere you turn there is a cute building, unique staircase, view of the city, historic statues or art on the wall. We spent a decent amount of time in the area, but I easily could've spent more by myself if given the chance.”

Students engaged with the local culture and language through learning activities set up by the faculty, observations made during day trips and interactions with local Portuguese people. Lauren Forbes, a third-year student majoring in global and international studies, found the structured trip itinerary and scheduled free time to explore interests, insightful in supplementing her in-class learning.

“I think my understanding of Portuguese culture and life improved greatly after this trip. Before the trip, we had been talking a lot about Portuguese history and culture, but it was hard to envision,” Forbes said. “On the trip, I was able to visualize what we were talking about.”

When students explored Lisbon, the 2024 elections for the Assembly of the Republic to the 16th Legislature of Portugal were ongoing. Students saw first-hand the civic engagement activities Portuguese citizens were involved in, such as a Communist Party rally in Lisbon’s city plaza and a bike tour led by the Portuguese Livre Party. The guest lectures students attended reflected these experiences and allowed students to discuss the European Union and the current state of the country’s political events and theories.  

“It was an exciting time since the parliamentary elections will determine the leadership of the country for the next four years,” Brune said. “Students learned about the political parties and structures, the current debates and the relationship between Portugal and the European Union from people who have worked in politics.”

During a day trip to Sintra, Portugal, the students visited Pena Palace, a Portuguese romanticist architectural castle often referred to as a “sacred gem crowning the hills of Sintra.” Students also attended a Fado show — a traditional Portuguese music genre, often associated with themes of love, loss and passion alongside soulful and melancholic tunes. They then had a group dinner where local cuisine delighted their plates.

“Seeing Fado live was amazing, and I loved that it was interactive,” Forbes said. “Also, since it was nearing the end of the trip, I was able to eat this meal with a bunch of my new friends I had made along the way.”

Even though the trip was only a week long, it was regarded as a “busy but amazing” adventure outside of the United States, according to the students.

“I can see that students who participated in the trip have a better understanding of the strains on the Portuguese economy, critical contemporary issues like the housing crisis and the political challenges that are both unique to Portugal and reverberate in other parts of Europe and the world,” Brune said. “They also began to discover connections between Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world and other areas that they have studied during our visits and conversations, like parallels between Korean and Portuguese ceramic traditions or the rise of far-right parties in Portugal and Germany.”

Many of the students on the trip participated thanks to enrichment funding through the Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network. For these students, the funding went towards out-of-class expenses on the trip, such as airfare, transportation within Portugal, food and souvenirs.

“The funding I received from the Career Enrichment Network was almost equivalent to the cost of the roundtrip airfare to Lisbon,” Shiels said. “I would not have been able to participate in the trip if not for the financial assistance from the college.”

“The funding was extremely helpful in easing the costs for my experience abroad and helped pay for my ticket,” Forbes said. “I learned so much about Portuguese culture just through the interactions with locals, and I could not have had the same experience in State College.”

Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network

The Career Enrichment Network empowers Liberal Arts students to explore, engage and define their career journey through diverse career development opportunities. Students can meet with a career coach to explore careers, internships, education abroad, research, the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program and more. Through donor support, the Career Enrichment Network provides Liberal Arts students the opportunity to apply for funding to help support participation in many of these experiences.