The goal of this paper is to discuss my experience teaching a seminar on Brazil to a diverse group of first-year students in the United States for the past few years. I will explore the educational impacts of a cross-cultural understanding of Brazilian society and culture on student’s intellectual engagement, learning outcomes, and critical analysis of diverse modes of being and belonging. Due to its complex, challenging and fascinating profile, Brazil defies easy categorizations and provides a unique thinking opportunity for the development of essential academic skills, such as critical thinking, sociocultural analysis, cross-cultural comparison, as well as cultural competency and tolerance to diversity. I will analyze especially the impacts of my role and identity as a Brazilian native anthropologist and instructor, the critical analysis of current news events and cultural stereotypes and generalizations about this particular country, as well as student’s direct interactions with fellow Brazilian students and faculty on the university campus. I will relate my analysis to the academic literature on native anthropologists as well as current debates regarding the role of anthropological teaching in fostering critical thinking, cultural competency, and tolerance as well as debates on active learning pedagogies and the use of computer based technologies in higher education.

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