Course Syllabus

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POR 3224

Race and Culture in Modern Brazil / Raça e cultura no Brasil moderno

Spring 2016

 

  

Instructor: Andréa C. L. Ferreira

Classes held: Mondays 4:05-4:55, Dauer Hall 342

Office: Keene-Flint 11

Office hours: Monday 5:00-6:00, Wednesday 4:00-6:00 and by appointment

Mailbox: Dauer Hall 170

E-mail: deia@ufl.edu / Phone number: (352) 392-2016

 

 

Readings:

Excerpts from Fernando A. Novais, ed. História da vida privada no Brasil, volumes 3 and 4 (São Paulo, SP: Companhia das Letras, 1998). The readings will be made available in our Canvas webpage.

 

Description:

This course is meant as an introduction to selected concepts of race, culture, and identity in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Brazil, with a focus on the former capital, Rio de Janeiro. It aims to recreate the Brazil portrayed in the works of famed author Machado de Assis. The course is designed to provide students with an overview of Brazilian society and the challenges it has faced as a postcolonial country.

 

 Objectives:

  • Gain a general overview of the Brazilian social context, focusing particularly on issues of race and culture.
  • Offer an introduction to the backdrop of Machado de Assis’ work (POW 4700).
  • Improve spoken Portuguese via class activities and assignments. This is principally a discussion class.
  • Broach the challenges modern Brazil and Brazilians faced and continue to face.

 

Grading and Requirements:

  1. Participation/Attendance 40%

Students must offer relevant and thoughtful contributions to class discussion. In this class, I see myself as a facilitator, listening and moderating discussion, not lecturing or asking questions. In order to participate properly, students are expected to bring a printed or electronic copy of the text and come prepared to debate the weekly topic.

 

  1. Response Papers (4) 20%

NO LATE WORK IS ACCEPTED by class time on date assigned or 0. Each one of the four papers is worth 5 points and will be graded on quality (engaging the text and topic), and form (correct language). The response papers should be limited to 1 page (double-spaced). They must refer to the reading(s) and address the themes and materials shown and discussed in class. Students may include outside sources, but these sources must be cited properly.

 

  1. Presentation 30%

The presentation should keep within the parameters of the weekly theme. It should take 10 minutes, with a few minutes left over for discussion of questions brought by the presenter. Each student should prepare a handout with an outline and sources to be handed in to the instructor in addition to a Power Point or spoken presentation. Students will be evaluated on comprehensibility, content, organization, delivery, and outline.

 

  1. Comparative Essay 10%

Students must compare a short story or a selected chapter by Machado de Assis to the topics explored in class. They are expected to write a 2 page analytical essay, connecting Machado’s literature to the readings. The essay will be due on our last class meeting, at the beginning of the class period. Please discuss the essay topic and ideas with the instructor beforehand.

 

Grading Scale: A=100-93, A- 92-90, B+=89=87, B 86-83, B-82-80, C+=79-77 C (S)= 76-73, C- (U), 72-70, D+=69-67, D=66-63, D-=62-60 E=59-0. C- will not qualify for Gen Ed credit. See https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx

 

 

 

Policies and regulations:

Attendance, participation and preparation are required, since this is a discussion not a lecture class. One absence is allowed without penalty, after which the attendance grade will be penalized. Students will be expected to show appropriate class demeanor regarding respect for fellow students and instructor.

 

 

Cronograma:

 

SEMANA I – Introdução

Introdução – Preconceito racial no Brasil moderno

Dever de casa:

  • “O negro que se tornou o primeiro caso na Justiça de racismo no Brasil,” por María Martín em El País (20/11/2015)

http://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2015/11/20/politica/1447981888_550729.html

 

*Agendar apresentações individuais

 

 

SEMANA II – Feriado

 

 

SEMANA III – Escravidão e liberdade

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Da escravidão à liberdade: dimensões de uma privacidade possível” por Maria Cristina Cortez Wissenbach (pg. 50-60)

 

 

SEMANA IV – Escravidão e violência

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Toma lá dá cá: o sistema escravocrata e a naturalização da violência” por Lilia M. Schwarcz e Heloisa M. Starling, Brasil: uma biografia (pg. 79-90)

 

 

SEMANA V – Rebeliões e resistência

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Toma lá dá cá: o sistema escravocrata e a naturalização da violência” por Lilia M. Schwarcz e Heloisa M. Starling, Brasil: uma biografia (pg. 91-100)

 

 

SEMANA VI – Quilombos e outros tipos de resistência

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Toma lá dá cá: o sistema escravocrata e a naturalização da violência” por Lilia M. Schwarcz e Heloisa M. Starling, Brasil: uma biografia (pg. 100-106)

 

 

SEMANA VII – Imigrantes

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Imigração: Cortes e continuidades” por Boris Fausto (pg. 14-26)

 

 

SEMANA VIII – Feriado

 

 

SEMANA IX – Vida privada e integração

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Imigração: Cortes e continuidades” por Boris Fausto (pg. 27-36)

 

 

SEMANA X – Legados linguísticos e culinários

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Imigração: Cortes e continuidades” por Boris Fausto (pg. 51-61)

 

 

SEMANA XI – Conceitos de raça e racismo

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Nem preto nem branco, muito pelo contrário: cor e raça na intimadade” por Lilia Mortiz Schwarcz (pg. 174-189)

 

 

SEMANA XII – Democracia racial

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Nem preto nem branco, muito pelo contrário: cor e raça na intimadade” por Lilia Mortiz Schwarcz (pg. 189-201)

 

 

SEMANA XIII – Desigualdade racial

Dever de casa:

  • Ler “Nem preto nem branco, muito pelo contrário: cor e raça na intimadade” por Lilia Mortiz Schwarcz (pg. 201-209)

 

 

SEMANA XIV – Levantamento

Dever de casa:

  • Cada aluno precisa trazer um texto sobre o tema de raça e/ou cultura no Brasil durante a virada do século XXI

 

 

SEMANA XV – Última aula

  • Festa de despedida!

 

 

OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION

Course Evaluations

Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10 criteria. These evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open. Summary results of these assessments are available to students at https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results.

 

Attendance and make-ups

Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx.

 

Academic Integrity

All students are required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines of the University. The UF Honor Code reads: “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.” On all work submitted for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.” For more information please refer to http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide.

 

Class Demeanor and Warnings

Students are expected to behave in a respectful and responsible manner at all times. Cell phones should be silenced and off of desks. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism will not be tolerated. A clear description of plagiarism and ways to avoid it can be found at http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/content.php?pid=32772&sid=1805502.

 

Accommodations

Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation. For more information see http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc.

 

Counseling and Wellness

A variety of counseling, mental health and psychiatric services are available through the UF Counseling and Wellness Center, whose goal is to help students be maximally effective in their academic pursuits by reducing or eliminating emotional, psychological, and interpersonal problems that interfere with academic functioning. The Center can be found online at http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc or reached by phone at 392-1575.

Course Summary:

Course Summary
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