PRC 320E: SPECTACULAR BRAZIL (44320)

Spring 2020: TTh 2-3:30pm

Prof. Jason Borge

Office hours: TTh 1-2: 3:30-4

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In this course, students will be introduced to Brazil through an analysis of a wide array of cultural texts, primarily fiction film, but also literature, popular music, art & photography, history, and journalism. The reading/viewing and the course itself will focus on the global, historical, thematic, and performative aspects of Brazilian culture, challenging simplistic notions of naive exoticism, racial harmony, and picturesque violence frequently associated with the nation. We will discuss how culture as spectacle—in the sense of performance, but also creative artifice, deceit, resistance, and manipulation—has encompassed a large range of societal phenomena, from slavery to carnival, soccer to electoral politics, the sertão to the favela.

Grades will be based on

• Attendance and participation in class (15%) • Written participation on Canvas (15%) • One mid-term exam (25%) • One final presentation (15%) • One final exam (30%)

Absences must be justified through communication with the instructor; otherwise, they will negatively impact your oral participation grade. Study questions will be made available on CANVAS two days prior to every class. Students must have access to these answers in class. Please bring notebooks and a pen or pencil for note-taking purposes. You may bring laptops and tablets to class. However, the use of such electronic devices may only be used with the permission of the instructor. Due to oral participation requirements, only light snacks and beverages are allowed in the classroom.

OTHER RULES AND POLICIES

1. The instructor will make himself available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that a student with a disability may require. Before course accommodations will be made, students will be required to provide documentation prepared by the Services for Students with Disabilities Office (SSD). To ensure that the most appropriate accommodations can be provided, students should contact the SSD Office at 471-6259 or 471-4641. For more information, read regulations for academic accommodations for students with disabilities at http://diversity.utexas.edu/disability/accommodations-and-services/

2. Scholastic dishonesty: students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from The University of Texas. This includes copying others' work, incuding other students' written responses on Canvas. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For more information, visit Student Judicial Services (SJS) at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/ (Links to an external site.).

Assigned readings/viewings

January 21

Introduction to course

January 23

Brazil from Afar

"Stereotype ," from Latino American Cinema: An Encyclopedia of Movies, Stars, Concepts, and Trends

Flying Down to Rio (dir. Thornton Freeland, 1933); selection (Links to an external site.)

Rio (dir. Carlos Saldanha, 2011): selection 1 (Links to an external site.) Minimize Video selection 2 (Links to an external site.)

Turistas (dir. John Stockwell, 2006): trailer (Links to an external site.)

Tropical Conquest

January 28

Levine & Crocitti, “Origins, Conquest, and Colonial Rule ” (from The Brazil Reader)

John Hemming, "Noble Savages "

Anonymous, "A Description of the Tupinambá "

Davi Kopenawa/Bruce Albert, "Drawn Words " [testimonial literature] from The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman [e-resource]

January 30

How Tasty was my Little Frenchman (Links to an external site.) (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, 1971)

P-Point Presentation: INDIGENOUS BRAZIL AND CONQUEST

The Price of Empire

February 4

Levine & Crocitti, “Slavery and its Aftermath ”

Thomas Ewbank, "Cruelty to Slaves "

Anonymous, "The War Against Palmares "

Gilberto Gil, "Quilombo, o Eldorado negro " (song lyrics)

February 6

Quilombo (Links to an external site.)(Carlos Diegues, 1984)

P-Point Presentation: SLAVERY & QUILOMBOS IN BRAZIL

The Wild, Wild Northeast

February 11

Levine & Crocitti, “Imperial and Republican Brazil ”

Dain Borges, “A Mirror of Progress ”

Gerald Greenfield, "Drought and the Image of the Northeast "

February 13

Black God, White Devil (Links to an external site.)(Glauber Rocha, 1964)

P-Point Presentation: EMPIRE, REPUBLIC, CANUDOS, SERTAO

Race, Gender, and the "New State"

February 18 Rollie Poppino, "Getúlio Dornelles Vargas " [Gale reference]

Getúlio Vargas, "New Year's Address, 1938 " (radio address)

Stanley R. Bailey, "Racial Democracy " [Gale Reference]

João Francisco dos Santos and Others, "Madame Satã, a Grifter in Lapa"

February 20

Madame Satã (Links to an external site.)(dir. Karim Ainouz, 2002)

P-Point Presentation: ESTADO NOVO AND MADAME SATA

Ambivalent Neighbors

February 25

Darlene Sadlier, "Good Neighbor Brazil, " from Brazil Imagined

Saludos Amigos (Links to an external site.) (dir. Walt Disney, 1942; Brazilian scenes)

February 27

Bananas is my Business (Links to an external site.) (dir. Helena Solberg, 1998)

P-Point Presentation: GOOD NEIGHBOR BRAZIL

Carnivalia

March 3

Roberto DaMatta, "A Concise Reflection on the Brazilian Carnival, " from Aesthetics in Performance

Clarice Lispector, "Remnants of Carnival (Links to an external site.)" (short story)

Silas de Oliveira, "Aquarela Brasileira (Links to an external site.)" (samba-enredo) Ary Barroso/Araci de Almeida, "Camisa amarela (Links to an external site.)" [Yellow Shirt]"

March 5

Black Orpheus (Links to an external site.)(dir. Marcel Camus, 1959)

P-Point Presentation: CARNIVAL AND BRAZIL

March 10

Review for exam

March 12

Mid-term exam

SPRING BREAK

Dissonant sounds

March 24

Levine & Crocitti, “Seeking Democracy and Equity ”

Christopher Dunn, “Tropicalism and Brazilian Popular Music under Military rule ”

Oswald de Andrade, "The Cannibalist Manifesto (Links to an external site.)"

March 26

Tropicália (Links to an external site.) (dir. Marcelo Machado, 2012)

P-Point presentation: DICTATORSHIP AND TROPICALIA

War games

March 31

Janet Lever and José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy, “Two Essays on Sports ”

Carlos Drummond de Andrade, "Sermon on the Plains (not meant to be listened to) (Links to an external site.)"

April 2

The Year my Parents went on Vacation (Links to an external site.) (dir. Cao Hamburger, 2006)

P-point presentation: Sports and Dictatorship

Spectacles of poverty

April 7

Bryan McCann, "The Big Picture ," from Hard Times in the Marvelous City

April 9

André Diniz, Picture a Favela (graphic novel), Part 1 ; Part 2 ; Part 3

April 14

City of God (Links to an external site.)(dir. Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002)

Powerpoint presentation: City of God and favelas

April 16

Bianca Freire-Medeiros and Márcio Grijó Vilarouca, "Would you be a favela tourist? Confronting expectations and moral concerns amongst Brazilian and foreign potential tourists "

P-point presentation: Favelas and Tourism

Environmental Challenges and Responses

April 21

Stephen Perz, "Brazil ," from Encyclopedia of Environment and Society [Gale Reference Library]

Astrid Cabral, "The Butcher Shop " [poem]

Lenine, "Quede água" [song]

April 23

Waste Land (Links to an external site.) (dir. Lucy Walker, 2011)

P-point presentation: Eco Brazil and Vic Muniz

April 28

GROUP PRESENTATIONS

April 30

GROUP PRESENTATIONS

May 5

Review

May 7

Final exam