The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth announces the public dedication of the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives at the Clare T. Carney University Library, on Friday, September 18, 2009 at 4 p.m.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be preceded by a colloquium entitled “Media and Identity in Portuguese America” featuring Dr. Pedro Bicudo, director of RTP Açores; Prof. Kimberly DaCosta Holton, Associate Professor and program director of Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies at Rutgers University; and Prof. Andrea Klimt, Associate Professor and chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Crime and Justice Studies at UMD.

Dr. Pedro Bicudo will deliver a lecture entitled “Portuguese Ethnic Media: Quest for Survival” and Professors Holton and Klimt will discuss the book Community, Culture and the Makings of Identity: Portuguese-Americans Along the Eastern Seaboard, a collection of essays edited by the two and recently published by the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture at UMD.

During the colloquium, Dr. Bicudo will present the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives with a collection of television programs he produced for Portuguese Public Television (RTP) about the Portuguese in the U.S. The colloquium will take place from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Board of Trustees Room of the Foster Administration Building, and includes light refreshments. It is free and open to the public.

Following the colloquium, attendees are invited to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The colloquium is co-organized by the Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives, the Center for Portuguese Studies and Culture and the Claire T. Carney Library.

Prof. Gloria de Sa
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Faculty Director of the Archives
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth