Unit information: Transnational Narratives in Contemporary Brazilian Culture in 2019/20

Unit name	Transnational Narratives in Contemporary Brazilian Culture
Unit code	HISP30059
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
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

Description including Unit Aims

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.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate a good knowledge of the networks of diasporic communities that make up the social fabric of Brazil.
2. Demonstrate a good understanding of the processes and political significance of transnational identification in Brazilian culture.
3. Contextualize discussions of diasporic identity in Brazil within wider debates about globalization.
4. Analyse globalized processes of identification and evaluate how cultural texts intervene into these processes.
5. Employ a sophisticated critical vocabulary appropriate to the study of both literary and cinematic texts, in a manner suitable for Level H.
6. Demonstrate an ability to construct an argument that balances detailed analysis of specific texts with a critical engagement with historical contexts and wide theoretical debates, in a manner suitable for Level H.

Teaching Information

2 contact hours weekly, consisting of informal lectures and seminars and including presentations and discussions

Assessment Information

1 x 4000 word essay (70%) testing ILO's 1-6

1 x group presentation (15-20 minutes) and individual 1000-word write up (30%: 15% group mark for presentation, 15% for individual write-up) testing ILO's 1-6.

Reading and References

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]