Portuguese (PORT)

This course is for students who have no prior high school knowledge of Portuguese. Students will fulfill their needs to 1) develop their ability to communicate satisfactorily in Portuguese in everyday practical situations that may occur either here in the U.S or abroad, 2) to acquire some of the skills necessary for effective reading in Portuguese, and 3) to write Portuguese with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students will be exposed to aspects of Lusophone culture via videos and written texts. Three key components that will assist students to attain these three goals are vocabulary, language awareness, and practice/participation.

This course is a continuation of PORT 1001 in which students will further fulfill their needs to 1) develop their ability to communicate satisfactorily in Portuguese in everyday practical situations that may occur either here in the U.S or abroad, 2) to acquire some of the skills necessary for effective reading in Portuguese, and 3) to write Portuguese with a satisfactory level of accuracy. Students will be exposed to aspects of Lusophone culture via videos and written texts. Three key components that will assist students to attain these three goals are vocabulary, language awareness, and practice/participation.

This course, along with the corresponding Intensive Intermediate Portuguese, is designed to present the student with the essentials of Portuguese grammar and aims at developing equally the student's ability to speak, comprehend, read and write in Portuguese. Through selected readings, films, music, computer programs the course will broaden the student's understanding of the cultures of the different countries where Portuguese is spoken, especially Brazil.

This course is a continuation of PORT 011-01. As such it continues with the main structures of the language which were not treated then, and aims to increase the understanding, speaking, reading and writing of the language. Through selected readings, films, music, computer programs the course will broaden the student's understanding of the cultures of the different countries where Portuguese is spoken, especially Brazil.

This course helps students quickly gain skills in spoken and written Portuguese by building on their prior working knowledge of another Romance language (Spanish, French, Catalan or Italian). By relying on the many similarities with other Romance languages, students can focus on mastering the different aspects of Portuguese, allowing them to develop their abilities for further study. This is a blended accelerated class, which meets twice a week in the classroom and requires preparation and homework activities online. During the semester, students also participate in teletandem activities outside the classroom, using Zoom, which are one-hour interactions with Brazilian students, 30 minutes in English or Spanish and 30 minutes in Portuguese. In this class format, the success of the students relies on preparation, homework and participation in class. This class covers content from Basic and Intermediate Intensive Portuguese. Pre-requisite: Completion of Advanced level of a Romance Language, or a heritage/native speaker of another Romance Language, or instructor’s consent.

This is an advanced 3-credit course for students who have already taken the basic and intermediate levels of Portuguese, or their equivalent. The main objective of the class is to complement the students knowledge of the basic structure of the language, as needed, while s/he practices the language by reading, speaking and writing about a series of contemporary texts, movies and music with emphasis on cultural aspects of the Portuguese-speaking world and language use.

Discussions of contemporary issues based on Brazilian articles and Portuguese newspapers and magazines. Goal of the course is to enlarge the student's vocabulary range and to develop ability to express ideas on a variety of issues and topics. Prerequisites: PORT-111 or -112 or approval of the instructor.

Skills for communication in business language will include commercial and economic terminology, reading comprehension, correspondence, and composition. Introduction to basic business practices in Brazil. Readings concentrate on current issues in business and related areas.

In this course we will explore how the Portuguese language is creating global cultural connections. Cultural differences are a vivid entanglement of languages, social, environmental, and artistic diversity in the Portuguese speaking world. The main goal of this course is to critically analyze these emergent territorial, societal creations, while considering how they are shaping creative cultural encounters. Constant interrelations are being created from hybrid emergent differences and showing that there’s no master narrative or knowledge, but rather shared responsibility and learning possibilities in areas and territories for cultural reproduction. We will use several materials that range from videos, interviews, literary texts, music and film, which address different aspects of the culture of Portuguese-speaking countries. Students are expected to prepare each text/film/audio in advance and to be ready to discuss these in class.

Brazil, the only Portuguese-speaking country, the largest nation and economy in South America, is a significant global power. This course introduces students to the history of Brazil since the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1500s to the present. It emphasizes key elements that distinguish Brazil from Spanish-speaking countries and the United States, while also highlighting the historical events that connect the country to the modern world, such as colonialism, the transition from enslavement to capitalism, and the challenges of democracy. In this course, students will also be introduced to the different regions of the country, to literature and to popular cultures (art, music, film, soccer), and to social movements that have shaped the history of the Brazilian nation. In addition to learning about the history of Brazil, students will also be introduced to some basic grammar and vocabulary of the Portuguese language. The course is offered in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, through the Office of Global Education. Students may enroll by application only. Visit studyabroad.georgetown.edu for more information.

A study of the development of Brazilian culture as delineated through Brazil's socio-cultural experience in comparison with the United States. Themes, such as, race, economy, colonization, religion, among others, will addressed.

A study of the development of Lusophone culture as delineated through the Portuguese-speaking world socio-cultural experience. The distinctive political and economic features of Portugal, Brazil, and of the Portuguese-speaking Africa are considered together with the most important expressions in the arts. Requirements: Intermediate/Advanced Portuguese I, or permission by the instructor.

This course will investigate the black diaspora in Brazil. The course will introduce some aspects of the history of Africa which are important to understand the black diaspora and the importance of African cultural memory in the formation of the black diaspora and how its importance in the construction of racial-black identity and national identity in Brazil. The course will examine the political, social and cultural actions of black social movements in contemporary Brazil and the fight by blacks for social inclusion in Brazilian society.

This course explores new perspectives on diplomacy. We will analyze epistemological diversity and intercultural communication to share and build knowledge for coexistence in a diversity of worlds. Our intention is to explore new spaces for interaction and creative performance in order to create partnership and dialogue between different institutions on an international level. Our analysis will focus on the effect of reciprocity on diplomacy between the known and the different. We will use case studies drawn from the diplomatic world to comprehend how the intersection of scientific, artistic, and educational collaborations strengthen and broaden international relationships. Our theoretical tools will include historical figures, political speeches, works of art and the experience and methodology of different disciplines including biology, anthropology, architecture, and ethology.

This course examines twentieth- and twenty-first century cinema produced in Brazil, from the influential Cinema Novo in the 1950s to contemporary filmmaking. It is designed to provide a panoramic understanding of the Brazilian culture and society through films, focusing on themes such as expressions of national and regional identity, internal and external migration, trans-Atlantic relations, as well as the representation of gender, class, and race. Students will be able to reflect about cultural diversity within the Brazilian historical context as a means to establish relations with the world scenario. Texts and discussions aim at developing students’ oral and written skills. Readings will be in Portuguese and English.

Portuguese-speaking world: The audiovisual industry has become an essential resource for disseminating knowledge, and access to the tools that create film and sound recordings is now nearly universal. In this course we will explore the theoretical, practical and ethical implications of the use of imaging using photography, videos and films of the Portuguese-speaking world. Students will also have access to introductory filming workshops with filmmakers in order to reflect on practical and ethical Issues. Students will experience some aspects of filmmaking techniques, while searching for point of views behind narratives, and examine how they express a way of knowing and being in the world. The main goal is to understand the interdependence and coexistence of visual and textual narratives in our contemporary societies. In order to achieve this goal, we will visualize several films and explore environmental and racial issues, politics and history, gender and sexuality of the Portuguese Speaking World. Six Memos for the next millennium by Italo Calvino inspired the structure of this course as well as his questioning about visual image, verbal expression and the “shift from the word to the visual image as a way of attaining knowledge”. It explores each one of the “memos” of Italo Calvino (lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, multiplicity) through different Portuguese Speaking-World contemporary authors as an entry point to how Humanities artifacts have shaped our “humanity," both as a set of common practices that unite us and as a set of distinct traditions that celebrate our differences. Students will be invited to explore film and writing in a context of self-questioning and awareness about their experience of and in the world.

This course looks into how the environment is represented in Brazilian culture, including cinema, literary texts and the arts. We will discuss the country’s biodiversity and some of its environmental challenges, including deforestation, climate change and drought.

The Environment in Brazil and Portugal In this course, we analyze the interaction between Brazilian and Portuguese cultural productions and the environment. The class begins by reflecting upon the environmental humanities, ecocriticism, and their methods of research, and upon topics like the Anthropocene and environmental justice. We will then turn to central areas of environmental thought in Brazil and Portugal, including the Amazon Rainforest and the drought-ridden Northeast in Brazil, and to the sea as a key element in Portuguese culture. The class will cover a variety of materials, including essays, literature (novels, short-stories, poetry), cinema and the fine arts. These representative cultural productions will serve as a springboard for a discussion of how the environment has shaped Brazilian and Portuguese culture and, in turn, how the arts can contribute to ongoing discussions about environmental issues.

“Women in Brazil: Health, Gender and Race” This course would examine the complex issues surrounding women's place within the Brazilian context, exploring factors like access to healthcare, reproductive health rights, maternal mortality, gender-based violence, socioeconomic disparities, cultural influences on health practices, and the impact of policies like the Unified Health System (SUS) specifically on women's health needs, all while considering the unique historical and social dynamics of Brazil. Taught in Portuguese.

This course introduces students to the sertão (backlands) and the favelas (slums), two themes essential for understanding Brazilian society from the late 19th century to the present. Students will examine cultural artifacts from a historical perspective, analyzing their social, political, and aesthetic dimensions in the context of their production. The course will cover various topics, including representations of immigration and urbanization in Rio de Janeiro around the 1880s, as well as contemporary portrayals of life, violence, and culture in favelas across major Brazilian cities. It will address historical events such as the War of Canudos in the 1890s and explore themes like drought, urban migration, class, race, gender, and religion in the Northeast and rural Brazil through the 20th century. Students will pay close attention to how artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians depict the dynamic relationship between the favela and the sertão. In addition to insights from the humanities, students will also examine how social scientists view the favela-sertão as a microcosm of Brazil.

The course is an entry point to the Cultural Humanities and Arts (HALC) at Georgetown. It introduces the students to the history of Brazilian cinema from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. It focuses mostly on film production of the 1950s, but it also examines the cinematographic production of the early 20th century. The course centers on classic narrative films, but it will also discuss other genres, such as documentaries and short films. Among the themes to be addressed in the course are: the national filmic production of Brazil, the debate about modernity versus tradition, the idea of a national or an alternative cinema (“Third World cinema” and the “Cinema Novo” movement) to Hollywood, cinema as a form of entertainment vs cinema as a political statement (to denounce colonialism, racism, dictatorships, gender, identity, migration, etc.) cinema or its relationship with the State, etc. In addition, this course also includes the dialogue of Brazilian cinema with Brazilian literature, popular culture (cordel literature, MPB/Brazilian popular music), among other themes. Several feature-length films are studied in their entirety, with several additional films introduced and considered through clips. Films are available in Portuguese with English and Spanish subtitles, and they are expected to be watched before classes, on Canvas/YouTube, or other platforms. This class is conducted in Portuguese, and students are expected to have at least an intermediate or advanced level of communication in Portuguese. Students will have the option to write the long papers in Portuguese, English, or Spanish.

The Culture, Music, and International Relations course offers a unique and interdisciplinary approach to how music influences and reflects global cultural and political dynamics. The course analyzes movements such as bossa nova, tropicalismo, and the Beatles' cultural revolution, exploring the role of music as a tool of soft power, cultural resistance, and diplomacy. Based on the Evolutionary Theory of Sapiens Survival (ETSS), we will discuss how music contributes to survival, reproduction, and alleviation of human suffering, challenging narratives based on fear and control. Throughout the course, students will participate in lectures, interactive debates, and live musical performances, connecting themes such as cultural identity, globalization, and political conflicts. Iconic cases will be analyzed, such as the global influence of "The Girl from Ipanema", the impact of "Imagine" as an anthem of hope, and the music of resistance during the Military Dictatorship in Brazil. This course is ideal for students who wish to understand music as a powerful cultural and political expression capable of transforming narratives and creating bridges between cultures. Furthermore, it offers a practical and reflective experience that combines theory, analysis, and musical performances.

A survey of Brazilian literature from 1500 to the present. Students will engage a wide variety of texts, including representative works of colonial period, romanticism, realism, modernism and postmodernism. Special consideration will be given to the idea of a national literature, looking at issues such as local and “universal”, country and city, representations of race, gender, class, and sexuality. This class will be taught in Spanish. Discussions will be conducted in Spanish or Portuguese (for students who don't speak Spanish). Professor will also make special arrangements for non-Spanish speaking students.

We believe that understanding the second half of the 20th century is crucial to understand the challenges that Brazil faces in the 21st Century. This course investigates the cultural, intellectual, social and political history of Brazil from mid-1950s to the1990s. We begin with an overview of the legacy of Getúlio Vargas (1930-45) and the construction of Brasília (1961), examining the formation of ideas about Brazilian identity, development and modernization of the country. We then examine the dictatorship (1964-1985), its economic and social project, the place of human rights and its impact on Brazilian society, paying attention to how the people responded to an authoritarian regime through a counter revolutionary movement and through culture (Cinema Novo, MPB/Brazilian popular music, Tropicália) in a fight for democracy. And, finally, we discuss the current issues that the country has dealt with such as of democracy, development, corruption, social mobility, and sporting mega events, for example.

This course provides a critical introduction to the cultural and literary production of Lusophone Africa. Through an analysis of representative films, literary texts, and music from various historical periods, we will explore how the legacies of Portuguese colonialism and the Cold War have shaped the political and cultural life of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde. From independence to the twenty-first century, we will trace the political transformation of these societies, examining themes such as colonialism, racial inequality, ethnic divisions, nationalism, utopia, tensions between traditional societies and modernizing elites, and issues of gender and sexuality. Course materials will offer students a unique window into these societies while helping them develop their skills in textual and cultural analysis. Readings are available in Portuguese and English.

"This interdisciplinary course is an exploration of soundscapes, rhythms, gestures, and movements, which inhabit languages. We will listen to different languages and explore different ways of perceiving them, from their physicality and linguistic dimensions to their cultural meanings and their consequent narratives. We will use a different range of documents and materials, from which it is possible to explore the encounter with differences across languages, through a variety of expressions as ways of writing, drawing, singing, listening, and talking. This course will be taught in English, although it’s possible to work in Portuguese, French, and English or in other languages for creative expression. Assignments and work in class will focus on imagination and creativity, using different supports such as writing, drawing, painting, video making, performance, and photography. "

This seminar will focus on an advanced, comparative study of novels from Portugal, Brazil and Lusophone Africa from the beginning of the 20-century to today. We will read the works of major Portuguese-speaking authors in conjunction with theoretical texts in order to highlight the main developments in fiction writing in these regions. From the politically engaged novel of 1930s Brazil through the postcolonial turn in Portuguese narrative in the 1990s, to emerging writers from Lusophone Africa; from Brazil’s “noir” novels of Ruben Fonseca, through the lyrical prose of Mozambique’s Mia Couto, to the post-modern novels of Portuguese writer Gonçalo Tavares, this course will offer an in-depth analysis of the fiction written in Portuguese in the last 100 years.

Detailed study of problems in the linguistic description of the Portuguese language as spoken in different countries with special reference to varieties of Spanish. Historical approach. Topics will be announced in the schedule of classes.

Detailed study of problems in the linguistic description of the Portuguese language as spoken in different countries. Topics will be announced in the schedule of classes.

A literary travel to the Portuguese Speaking Countries (Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Vert, Guiné Bissau and São Tomé) through the texts of Women writers, mainly of the 20th century.

Course description not yet available

Este seminario de posgrado tiene el propósito de examinar los debates contemporáneos sobre cultura, política y democracia en América Latina. Se enfocará los temas de cultura y democracia; medios masivos y ciudadania; cultura urbana; genero y cultura. Eligibilidad: Es eligible a matricularse todo estudiante de posgrado que sepa hablar, leer, escribir y entender el castellano con facilidad. Algunas lecturas estarán también en português. Tienen prioridad los estudiantes de (a) Spanish and Portuguese (b) Latin American Studies (c) Comparative Literature y (d) otros departamentos y programas.

A survey of Brazilian Cinema with emphasis on cultural context and artistic expression of films studied. The course will begin with the innovative Cinema Novo period of the 1950s and end with the resurgence of Brazilian filmmaking in the 1990s. Topics include “Third World Cinema”, post-colonialism and expressions of national identity; representation, film adaptation, constructions of gender, concepts of good and evil, race, popular culture, as well as aesthetics and film structure and the role of the audience. Several feature-length films are studied in their entirety, with several additional films introduced and considered through clips. The course is conducted in Portuguese.

Topical analysis of main literary and historical themes of Brazilian culture through films and literary texts.

This course is an introduction to Brazilian, Portuguese and Lusophone African film. The class will focus on the development of cinema in Brazil, particularly from Cinema Novo onwards. Films will be discussed in light of earlier developments in the Brazilian film industry and of political and social changes in the country. We will also analyze Portuguese film production, from the 1960s movies produced under the New State regime to the post-1974 film production. Finally, we will turn to movies from Lusophone Africa and briefly comment the development of the film industry in African Portuguese-speaking countries. Special attention will be paid to documentary film, which has been one of the most vibrant areas of film production in the Portuguese-speaking world during the last decade.

This course examines the cultures, peoples, and representations of the Amazon rainforest in literature, film, and popular culture. The class will discuss the ways in which the Native People of the Amazon interact with and represent their environment through a study of their pre-Columbian history and art and of their relationship with non-Amazonian colonizers. It will also trace the evolving perception of the Amazon rainforest in the West, from the initial stage of colonization, through the scientific study of the region by nineteenth-century European naturalists and the rubber boom, to more recent conservationist approaches. Finally, we will look into the role of the Amazon in the construction of a Brazilian national identity. Intellectuals such as essayist Euclides da Cunha, Modernist writer Mário de Andrade or anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro have all presented the country’s views on the Amazon as a litmus test of Brazil’s ability to navigate between the drive to modernization and environmental protection. Taught in English.

Tutorials are designed to allow students to pursue specialized interests under the guidance of a professor who has some expertise in that area. Though demanding and requiring a good deal of work and individual initiative, they can be an intellectually rewarding capstone to the major. The student, in conjunction with the professor, is responsible for shaping of the tutorial, including determining its content and requirements. The tutorial must be approved by the tutorial professor, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the dean. Tutorials are not meant to replicate courses which are regularly offered by the department. Students who are interested in pursuing a tutorial should speak with a professor who has some expertise in the field they wish to study. To find out our faculty members' areas of interest, consult our Faculty.