Module overview
This course is designed to expand and deepen your knowledge of the cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world, bringing together written texts, visual and conceptual art, political materials, and cinema from twentieth-century Portugal, Brazil, and Portuguese-speaking Africa. In addition to building a specialised knowledge base on the recent histories, politics and cultures of these countries, during the module you will sharpen your skills of analysis, critical thinking and debate, and learn how the themes, issues and processes that have defined the Portuguese-speaking world interconnect with wider global issues.
A particular focus during the module will be the notion of resistance, and as a class, we will explore the often hidden ways that ‘speaking truth to power’ has manifested in the Portuguese-speaking world — and what happens when movements designed to throw off oppression tip into authoritarianism themselves. We will use a range of critical approaches to draw connections between Portuguese-speaking nations and cultures and the rest of the world, allowing us to broaden our understandings of the ways that networks of power and resistance operate across the globe.
All written texts are available in English translation, and all films are available with English subtitles, allowing students with little or no prior knowledge of Portuguese language or the Portuguese-speaking world to engage with the module.