Unit name | Transnational Narratives in Contemporary Brazilian Culture |
---|---|
Unit code | HISP30059 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Professor. King |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit offers an in-depth look at processes of transnational identification in contemporary Brazilian culture. Through a discussion of a number of novels and films produced in Brazil since the year 2000, it will explore representations of diaspora in Brazil, in particular Jewish, Lebanese and Japanese communities in the country. The focus will be how cultural engagements with diasporic belonging function as symptoms of shifting modes of identification and subjectivity in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world. Through a close reading of texts such as the novel A chave de casa (2007) by Tatiana Salem Levy and the documentary Um passaporte húngaro (2001), by Sandra Kogut, students will be encouraged to discuss the connection between the theme of territorial displacement and the narrative strategies of ‘autofiction’ and performative documentary making. Through a discussion of the fiction of Milton Hatoum, students will explore the transformations in the form and social function of the regionalist novel in the context of globalization. An exploration of the novels of Bernardo Carvalho will focus on the use of Orientalist tropes, especially in relation to the Japanese community in Brazil.
By the end of this unit, students will have:
2 contact hours weekly, consisting of informal lectures and seminars and including presentations and discussions
1 x 3000 word essay (50%) testing ILO's 1-6
1 x 2 hour exam (50%) testing ILO's 1-6.
A chave de casa (2007) by Tatiana Salem Levy
Um passaporte húngaro (2001), directed by Sandra Kogut
Relato de um certo Oriente (2002) by Milton Hatoum
Corações sujos (2011), directed by Vicente Amorim
O sol se põe em São Paulo (2007) by Bernardo Carvalho
[Texts may change from year to year]