Cultural History of the Luso-Brazilian World

Catalog description

In this course, based on a selection of (canonic as well as more marginal) literary, filmic, and musical works, we will learn about the way in which Portuguese seaward expansion opened the path for Western colonialism and globalization, as well as about the forms of local agency and resistance that challenged or subverted Portuguese colonial rule. We will look at the contested processes of construction and the ultimate demise of the Portuguese empire and the emergence of post-colonial nation-states (starting with the independence of Brazil at the beginning of the nineteenth century) through a range of literary, artistic, musical and filmic expressions. Discussion of these materials will raise issues about the ideological underpinnings of colonialism and decolonization as well as on the diasporic memory-work individuals and communities carry out through poetry, music, and dance. The overall aim of the course is to raise sensitivity about the multiple interconnections and cross-fertilizations that sustain and enrich Luso-Brazilian cultures in the present — including, not least, the Portuguese heritage of New York City, with the foundation, in 1654, of its first Jewish congregation by exiles from Recife, Brazil, and the presence until today of sizeable Portuguese, Azorean and Brazilian communities.