Unit information: Introduction to Brazilian Cultural Studies in 2013/14

Unit name	Introduction to Brazilian Cultural Studies
Unit code	MODLM0004
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Atkin
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Modern Languages
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

This unit is particularly geared towards preparation for MLitt/PhD research in Brazilian studies. It introduces MA students to twentieth-century Brazilian culture through guided reading of a range of cultural, critical and theoretical texts. It will draw on diverse cultural media such as literature, drama, film music and/or fine art. The unit will focus on key concerns in Brazilian cultural studies, for example political issues, artistic and intellectual currents, social and racial inequality, regional specificities, the idea of nation, gender and corporeality. Guided reading introduces students to a range of key issues and is complemented by in-depth independent learning, tailored as appropriate to students’ specific interests.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to: (1) demonstrate a broad understanding of key issues across twentieth-century Brazilian cultural studies, (2) analyse critical and theoretical texts on Brazilian culture, (3) appraise such texts in formal academic writing, (4) analyse specific areas of Brazilian cultural studies in depth, and (5) construct independently, with guidance, a critical written assessment of such areas.

Teaching Information

Students will be set guided reading tasks, meeting the tutor(s) to discuss the material read. Preparation for these meetings will be cumulative preparation for the literature review. In preparation for their essay, students will typically attend undergraduate classes in Lusophone studies where the material is relevant to their work, in addition to meeting with a supervisor to refine and develop a topic arising from the initial reading.

Assessment Information

A 2,000-word literature review (40%: learning outcomes 1-3) and a 3,000-word essay (60%: learning outcomes 4 and 5)

Reading and References

• Gilberto Freyre, Casa Grande e Senzala (1933)
• The Brazilian Puzzle: Culture on the Borderlands of the Western World, ed. David J Hess and Roberto A DaMatta (1995)
• Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil (1999)
• Brazil: A Century of Change, ed. Ignácio Sachs et al (2009)