Global Arc

An advanced language and culture course looking at a variety of themes pertaining to the contemporary Portuguese-speaking world. Discussions and compositions expand knowledge of grammar and increase fluency in written and spoken Portuguese, providing a solid foundation for further study of literature and culture. Prerequisite: POR 109 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

An advanced language and culture course looking at a variety of themes pertaining to the contemporary Portuguese-speaking world through cinema. Discussions and compositions will expand knowledge of grammar and increase oral and written Portuguese, providing a solid foundation for further study of literature and culture.

Through readings of selected texts and audiovisual materials, this course introduces students to the diverse cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. Discussions focus on Portugal's expansion during early modern times, and the spread of the Portuguese language in the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Contemporary issues in several geographic areas will be approached comparatively. Prerequisite: POR 208 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

This course will analyze the role of cinema in the construction (and deconstruction) of national and transnational discourses in the Portuguese-speaking world. We will examine a number of recurring cultural topics in a wide variety of films from Africa, Brazil and Europe, situating works within their socio-historical contexts and tracing the development of national cinemas and their interaction with global aesthetics and trends.

This course will analyze the role of cinema in the construction (and deconstruction) of national and transnational identities and discourses in the Portuguese-speaking world. We will examine recurring cultural topics in a wide variety of films from Brazil, Portugal, and Lusophone Africa and Asia, situating works within their socio-historical contexts and tracing the development of national cinemas and their interaction with global aesthetics and trends. Through these cinematographic productions we will illuminate complex relationships between Portuguese-speaking societies and analyze significant cross-cultural differences and similarities.

Short stories and music will serve as vehicles for a deeper understanding of the major political and social shifts that have affected the landscape of the Contemporary Portuguese-speaking world. We will hear an array of voices and delve into a diversity of narratives as we explore the interconnected historical, social, political, and cultural aspects of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste.

Luanda, Lisbon, Rio, São Paulo...Through readings of selected texts and audiovisual materials, this course will visit the diverse cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world through the lens of culture produced in, by and about major cities. We will compare and contrast both "official" and "unofficial" narratives of these spaces and investigate how cultural productions from and about the periphery contest hegemonic representations of urban spaces and culture(s).

This course focuses on works that have been key for shaping the literary tradition of the Portuguese language, from colonial to postcolonial times. Discussions will focus on the intersections between literature, social change, identity, and history in Brazil, Portugal, and Lusophone Africa. Prerequisite: POR 208 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

A study of 19th- to 21st-century Brazilian texts with the aim of defining the place of Brazilian literature and culture within the context of Latin America and beyond. To include writers like Machado de Assis, Oswald de Andrade, Guimarães Rosa, Drummond, João Cabral, Clarice Lispector, and Caetano Veloso. Prerequisite: POR 208 or instructor's permission. Two 90-minute classes.

A voyage through the lyrical traditions of Portugal, Brazil, and Portuguese-speaking Africa, this course seeks to trace the evolution of the poetic form and illuminate dynamic and enduring intertextualities. Through close-readings of major works of poetry we will explore the ongoing dialogue between poets and artists of the spoken word across time and space, providing the foundation for a deeper understanding of the diverse Portuguese-language literary and cultural landscape.