Paper short abstract:

To what extent is the feeling of identitary linkage to Latin America shared by the population of these countries? The aim of this research was to analyze the identitary link of Latin American undergraduate students to Latin America and how academic mobility affects this sense of belonging.

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, Latin American integration has received considerable attention from political, academic and cultural spheres of the countries in the region, leading to a variety of measures for approximation. One may wonder, however, to what extent the feeling of identitary link to Latin America is shared by the population of these countries. An example of this approximation effort is the academic mobility of students, based on curriculum equivalence and acknowledgment of diplomas. In this sense, the aim of this research was to analyze the identitary linkage of Latin American undergraduate students to Latin America - including Hispanics and Brazilians - and what they think about Latin American integration. Furthermore, we intended to analyze how foreign students feel about Brazil and Brazilians and how Brazilian students feel about the Hispanic countries and their populations. In a pilot study, a total of 16 people were interviewed: 11 Latin American foreign undergraduate students and 5 Brazilian undergraduate students, all studying at the time at the University of Brasilia. The interviews were analyzed with Analysis of Content. It was noted that the displacement, even temporary, to another country in the region served to intensify the feeling of sharing things in common. Regarding Brazilians, the contact brought about by the mobility of foreign students was important to minimize the symbolic separation that exists between Brazil and Hispanic countries in the region, creating identitary links to Latin America.