Course details

Name: ENGL - 278

Title: SURVEY OF BRAZILIAN LIT

Section: 01

Semester: Spring - 2017

Credits: 3

Description:
Note: You do NOT need to speak Portuguese to take this course. All literature will be in ENGLISH translation.

In the American imagination, Brazil appears as a tropical, sensual and dangerous "Third World" location. The rhythms of samba and bossa nova, the exuberance of carnival, and the joy of Brazilian soccer are internationally known, and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics have kept the eyes of the world turned towards Brazil. In this seminar, we will explore the rich literary tradition of Brazil, often overlooked by American readers. We will address a number of important themes in this class, such as the invention of a national identity through literature; the imagining of "race" outside of the American context; and the representation of gender and its relationship to power. We will read foundational texts such as Alencar's "Iracema," which identifies miscegenation as the root of a uniquely Brazilian national character. We will read Azevedo's "The Slum," with its complicated depiction of violence and erotic desire. We will pay particular attention to the work of Machado de Assis. His most popular novel, "Dom Casmurro," is a re-imagining of Shakespeare's Othello, set in nineteenth-century Brazil. Other writers might include Clarice Lispector, whose experimental novels have been published in new translations in the US, and Caio Fernando Abreu, who tried to find a new language to represent queer identity. Students will be encouraged to engage in discussion during class, to introduce questions and participate in debate. For those students who are interested in the literature of Latin America, or for those students who simply would like to read beyond the American and English traditions, the literature of this course offers an exciting opportunity.

Schedule: Tuesday,Thursday From 11:30 am To 12:45 pm

Graduation requirements:

  • Any Literature (1e)
  • Genre Study (Fiction)
  • Pre-1900 (1c)
  • International Issues (3a)
  • Women and Gender Studies (3c)

Teaching Faculty: Lorenz Johnny (lorenzj)

Is course canceled: No