Undergraduate Course: BRAZILIAN CULTURE (ordinary) (ELCH09020)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will introduce major topics in Brazilian literature and culture since the country¿s independence in 1822. A selection of novels and film will be studied in the context of historical and political events. Particular attention will be paid to the following themes: nation-building, post-colonialism and race; regionalism; gender and sexuality; post-modernism, revolution and ideology. These topics will allow the student to think and write comparatively, and to combine detailed textual analysis with theoretical debate and a consideration of historical and cultural factors. Background information and relevant aspects of critical theory will be examined during seminars. The course runs for two hours per week for 11 weeks. Classes will be a mixture of lecture, seminar and student-led discussion. |
| Course description |
Week 1 Introduction
Week 2 A master of the 19th century: Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, Machado de Assis (1881)
Week 3 Modernism and experimentation: Macunaíma, Mário de Andrade (1928)
Week 4 Race & inequality in Bahía: Jubiabá, Jorge Amado (1935)
Week 5 Vargas, Era & the Sertão: Vidas secas, Graciliano Ramos (1938)
Week 6 Gender, sexuality & resistance: Perto do coração selvagem, Clarice Lispector (1943)
Week 7 Politics & ideology during the Dictatorship: Morte e Vida Severina, João Cabral de Melo Neto (1955)
Week 8 Novo Cinema & the Aesthetics of Hunger (I): Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, Glauber Rocha (1964)
Week 9 Novo Cinema & the Aesthetics of Hunger (II): Terra em Transe, Glauber Rocha (1967)
Week 10 Postmodernism: Dois Irmãos, Milton Hatoum (2000)
Week 11 Conclusions and revision
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Students must purchase copies of the set texts |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | In order to be eligible to take 4th Year Options, Visiting Students should have the equivalent of at least two years of study at University level of the appropriate language(s) and culture(s). |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 30%: 1x 2,000 word essay on a text/film from those studied on the course
Exam 70%: one take-home exam essay scheduled during exam diet.
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| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the major themes and trends in Brazilian cultural expression from the time of Independence to the present day in a variety of genres.
- Students will be able to show awareness of the variety and diversity of Brazilian culture as it is expressed in Literature and Film.
- Students will be able to improved their skills of literary criticism and theoretical analysis.
- Students will be able to enhance their writing and presentation skills through a variety of techniques, from essay writing to seminar presentations.
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Reading List
Compulsory (any edition):
Machado de Assis, Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas (1881)
Mário de Andrade, Macunaíma (1928)
Jorge Amado, Jubiabá (1935)
Graciliano Ramos, Vidas secas (1938)
Clarice Lispector, Perto do coração selvagem (1943)
João Cabral de Melo Neto, Morte e Vida Severina (1955)
Milton Hatoum, Dois Irmãos (1975)
Recommended:
The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics (Duke UP)
Antônio Candido, Ficção e confissão: ensaios sobre Graciliano Ramos
Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil
Darlene Sadlier, Brazil Imagined: 1500 to the Present
Richard Graham ed., Machado de Assis: Reflections on a Brazilian Master Writer
Stephen M. Hart, Companion to Latin American Film
Massaud Moisés, História da Literatura Brasileira
Marta Peixoto, Passionate Fictions: Gender, Narrative and Violence in Clarice Lispector
Roberto Schwarz, A Master on the Periphery of Capitalism: Machado de Assis
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Raquel Ribeiro
Tel: (0131 6)51 7112
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Kat Zabecka
Tel: (0131 6)50 4026
Email: |
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