Courses on culture

*Photo credit: Ligia Bezerra

Learn about Brazilian society, history and culture through music! This course surveys Brazilian Popular Music throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Discover music and artists in a variety of genres, including samba, Bossa Nova, rock, hip hop, rap, funk, and much more. Learn about the importance of music in Brazil's social movements.

Check out the podcasts tab for informative and fun podcasts that our students have produced as their capstone project for the this course!

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese required. Some activities and readings in Portuguese as options for students pursuing the Certificate in Brazilian Studies or for those seeking to advance their skills in the language.

Offered every other year as POR/SLC 460.

General Studies Designation HU and G.

494 is a topics course and, as such, can be repeated for credit.

*Photo credit: Ligia Bezerra

Learn about the culture and the history of the Portuguese-speaking world through film! This course looks at major themes that have global impact: race, gender, political transitions, and social inequality. Discover connections between Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and the United States by familiarizing yourself with some of the most important films produced since the 1990s in the Portuguese-speaking world.

Check out the podcasts tab for informative and fun podcasts that our students have produced as their capstone project for the this course!

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese required. Some activities and readings in Portuguese as options for students pursuing the Certificate in Brazilian Studies or for those seeking to advance their skills in the language.

Offered every other year as POR/SLC 494.

General Studies Designation HU and G.

494 is a topics course and, as such, can be repeated for credit.

*Photo credit: Ligia Bezerra

Learn about the African roots of Brazilian culture as well as the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) influence in Africa. Read news, short stories, a short novel, watch films and music videos as you explore connections between Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese required. Some activities and readings in Portuguese as options for students pursuing the Certificate in Brazilian Studies or for those seeking to advance their skills in the language.

Offered every other year as POR/SLC 494.

General Studies Designation HU and G.

494 is a topics course and, as such, can be repeated for credit.

*Photo credit: Ligia Bezerra

What have you consumed today? How does your consumption impact your local community as well as communities around the globe? How does it impact the planet and what can you do to minimize the negative consequences of consumption today? Join us in reflecting about these questions as we learn about the history of consumption in Latin America by watching TV series and films, listening to music, and reading short stories, short novels, and news from Latin America, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish required. Some activities and readings in Portuguese as options for students pursuing the Certificate in Brazilian Studies or for those seeking to advance their skills in the language.

Some activities and readings in Spanish as options for students pursing a major or minor in Spanish or for those seeking to advance their skills in the language.

Offered every other year as POR/SLC/SPA/HON 494.

General Studies Designation HU and G.

494 is a topics course and, as such, can be repeated for credit.

From the slave economy of the sugar plantations to ultra-modern and global scale of soybean cultivation, Brazil's place on the global stage has long been marked by its agricultural exports. Domestically, the importance of food--or its absence--has played a fundamental role in the formation of Brazilian society and nationhood. This course uses culinary and agricultural production to explore larger issues across Brazil's history, including race, gender, regional and national identities, development, and public policy.

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese required.

Offered as POR/SLC 194.

General Studies Designation HU and G.

The sertão or backlands of Brazil comprises the stretch of land covering most of the states of the Northeast region. This area is known for its semi-arid climate, desert-like vegetation and rich culture. In this course we will study the history, the society, and the culture of the sertão. Using a variety of texts, including news articles, films, music, and literature, we will explore how the sertão has been constructed as a place of resilience and revolution, for its resistance to historic droughts and socio-political battles, and how it informs our imagination of desert landscapes as spaces of resilience.

Taught in English. No pre-requisite. No knowledge of Portuguese required.

Offered as POR/SLC 194.

General Studies Designation HU, L, and G