Minor
Five courses
PORT 202
A minimum of (4) four other courses, typically with significant Luso-Brazilian content (a minimum of one course from the Humanities, and one from the Social Sciences). Courses must be decided in consultation with the minor coordinator.
NOTE: PORT 231 is strongly encouraged.
Exceptions can be made by permission of the coordinator.
Students must conduct the main research of the following classes on a Portuguese-speaking area (for some of the classes FLIC option is available):
ANTH 222: Contemporary Peoples of Latin America
ARCH/ANTH/LALC 262: South American Archaeology
ECON 236: Latin American Economies
HIST 130: Early Latin American History to 1800
HIST 131: Modern Latin American History since 1800
HIST 215: Topics in Comparative History (When appropriate)
HIST 272/AFST 310: The Atlantic Slave Trade and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1450-1850
HIST 283/LALC 283: Latin American - U.S. Relations
HIST 315: Studies in Comparative History (When appropriate)
LALC 101: Introduction to Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies
LALC 200: Special Topics in Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean Studies (When appropriate)
LALC 300: Special Topics in Latin American, Latinx and Caribbean Studies (When appropriate)
PORT 231: Conversation and composition
PORT 242/LALC 242: Brazilian Cultural and Social Issues
PORT 380: Topics in Luso-Brazilian and Hispanic Studies
POSC 251: Latin American Politics
SPAN 380: Topics in Luso-Brazilian and Hispanic Studies (When appropriate)
Courses in CIEE Liberal Arts Program and CIEE Culture Business Program, in São Paulo, Brazil: Up to two classes related to a Portuguese-speaking area, taken at the CIEE Council in São Paulo may count towards the minor. One additional course related to a Portuguese-speaking area may count when taken at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica or at the Fundacao Getulio Vargas. Course must be pre-approved by the minor coordinator.
Courses
The following course is offered in São Paulo as part of the Dickinson in South America-Brazil program:
240 Brazil in a Latin American Context
This course approaches Brazilian cultures and society from an interdisciplinary perspective, with emphasis on social, economic, and environmental justice. The course will examine the diversity of Brazilian society in the context of Latin American cultural, historical, social, philosophical, political, and economic developments, with a special focus on São Paulo. Students will analyze a variety of written and visual texts (from literature, art, popular culture, sociopolitical groups, and the media), scholarly works (articles/book chapters), as well as music and multimedia (documentaries/films/television/new media). Classroom activities will be enhanced with visits to selected areas of metropolitan São Paulo of cultural and historical significance. This course also functions as an introduction to the Brazilian university system and supports the writing and research skills required for study at the University of São Paulo.
Prerequisite: PORT 200 or 201. This course is cross-listed as LALC 205.
Attributes: Global Diversity, Lat Am, Latinx, Carib St Elect, Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, SPAN/PORT St Abd Lang/Cult/Top
Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Courses:
200 Portuguese for Speakers of a Romance Language
This course is designed for students who have previously studied another Romance language and would like develop speaking, reading, writing and listening skills in Portuguese. The course assumes no previous knowledge of Portuguese, and will rely on the comparative grammar and cognate vocabulary of Spanish and other Romance languages to develop language skills over the course of the semester. In addition, the class will explore aspects of Portuguese-speaking cultures in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Prerequisites: four semesters of a Romance language (or the equivalent), or permission of instructor.
Attributes: SPAN/PORT Language & Culture
202 Intermediate Portuguese II
The primary goals of this course are to review and study advanced grammatical structures, as well as develop writing skills. The course will aim to further develop students’ formal knowledge of Portuguese by studying challenging grammatical structures and producing formal and informal texts, such as letters, reports, narrations, summaries, etc. In order to familiarize students further with the cultures of Portuguese speaking countries, the course will use diverse target-language materials, such as short stories, films, newspaper clips, blog entries, YouTube videos, songs, etc. This course is intended as the gateway to the Portuguese and Brazilian Studies minor.
This course will be offered as determined by student needs and on a tutorial (one-on-one) basis based on faculty availability. Prerequisite: 200 or 201
Attributes: Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, SPAN/PORT Language & Culture
231 Portuguese Conversation and Composition
Advanced practice in oral and written Portuguese. In-class work focuses primarily on oral practice through presentations and class-wide discussions of these presentations, of current events, readings and films, as well as small group practice emphasizing everyday situations. Out-of-class work focuses on writing and revision of compositions with emphasis on both grammar and style.
This course will be offered as determined by student needs and on a tutorial (one-on-one) basis based on faculty availability. Prerequisite: 200 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, SPAN/PORT Acad & Prof Contexts
242 Brazilian Cultural and Social Issues
In this class students learn about a variety of aspects of Brazilian culture and social issues. While highly discussed topics in Brazil and about Brazil, such as carnival, malandragem, and jeitinho are examined, throughout the semester students explore three different types of encounters: Native encounters, African and Afro-Brazilian encounters, and gender encounters. Students analyze these ideas concentrating on the nature of the encounters and the criticisms generated. Also, the class examines issues of representation related to marginalization, violence and banditry. In order to carry out the analysis of ideas and cultural representations and their development, students work with a variety of texts from different disciplines - literature, anthropology, sociology, history, and film - and follow an intersectional methodology.
This course is cross-listed as LALC 242. Offered every year.
Attributes: Appropriate for First-Year, Global Diversity, Lat Am, Latinx, Carib St Elect, Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, SPAN/PORT Intro Cult/Ling/Lit, Taught in English
290 Brazilian Cinema
This class focuses on important examples of Brazilian cinema, as well as on critical episodes, manifestos, and challenges faced by Brazilian directors, screenwriters, and actors. The class will also analyze diverse periods and genres, such as chanchadas, Cinema Novo, and retomada. Particular attention will be paid to the representation of native Brazilians, Afro-Brazilians, women, and marginalized places (Backlands, favelas, etc.), and how their representation has had social and economic repercussions in Brazil. Taught in English. Available as a FLIC option in Portuguese.
This course is cross-listed as LALC 290. Offered every two years.
Attributes: Humanities, Lat Am, Latinx, Carib St Elect, SPAN/PORT Intro Cult/Ling/Lit, Taught in English
304 Afro-Brazilian Literature
This class analyzes the literary production of Afro-Brazilians writers, as well as the representation of Afro-Brazilian characters in literary texts. It reviews different literary periods and the images those periods created and/or challenged and how they have affected and continue to affect the lives of Afro-Brazilians. Also, by paying particular attention to gender and social issues in different regional contexts, the class considers how Brazilian authors of African descent critically approach national discourses, such as racial democracy and Brazilianness. Taught in English. Available as a FLIC option in Portuguese.
This course is cross-listed as AFST 304 and LALC 304. Offered every two years.
Attributes: AFST - Diaspora Course, Humanities, Lat Am, Latinx, Carib St Elect, Portuguese & Brazilian Studies, SPAN/PORT Advanced Topics, Taught in English, Writing in the Discipline
380 Topics in Luso-Brazilian and Hispanic Studies
Study of significant cultural, literary, and historical topics concerning the Portuguese and, when appropriate, the Spanish speaking world. A sampling of topics includes the Medieval Song, Gender Transgression in Brazilian literature, Malandragem and Bandits in Brazil, Gender and Race in the literatures of the luso-phone world, Writing after the 1964 Brazilian Coup d'etat, Performing Gender in Latin America.
Prerequisite: 242 or permission of the instructor.
Attributes: SPAN/PORT Advanced Topics