Portuguese and Brazilian Studies (MA)
A.Y. 2021/2022
Learning objectives
The course aims at proposing an approach to the study of the literary memory of the dictatorship of Estado Novo in Portugal (1933-1974) and the Regime Militar in Brazil (1964-1985). An introduction to the historical and socio-political processes of the two dictatorships is proposed, also from a comparative point of view. The critical and narratological analysis of three classic Portuguese novels and three classic Brazilian novels will be accompanied by a deepening on the theories of the representation of memory and of memory studies.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: to acquire the essential political and historiographical concepts to recognize dictatorial processes in Brazil and Portugal, understanding of elements of narratology to read critically novels, to learn about the main theories of memory studies. Applying knowledge and understanding: to grasp the historical and cultural implications of the evolution of literary representations of social memory of two Dictatorships. To know the political and socio-economical and literary lexicon applied to the two Dictatorships.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
More specific information on the delivery modes of training activities for academic year 2021/22 will be provided over the coming months, based on the evolution of the public health situation.
Course syllabus
The title of course is: "A century of interpreters: Portugal and Brazil"
The course interlaces several relevant moments of the construction and rethinking of the identity of Portugal and Brazil throughout the 20th century, investigating some of the fundamental perspectives from which prose, poetry and criticism have interpreted Portuguese and Brazilian "identity", in a constant dialogue between literary expression and the history of ideas.
The first part focuses on the study of contemporary Portuguese thought that emerges between the end of the 19th century and the end of the 20th century in a time historically crossed by socially and politically relevant contexts (Monarchy, Imperialism, Republic, Estado Novo, Colonialism, Revolution of Carnations, Democracy). The thought on the cultural identity of Portugal by authors such as Fernando Pessoa, António Sérgio, Eduardo Lourenço and José Gil will be the subject of the course.
The second part of course then focuses on the great paradigm of the "formação", with which since the early years of the 20th century theorists such as Paulo Prado, Gilberto Freyre, Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Caio Prado Júnior have begun to reflect on Brazilian identity, on its "essential" features and on the processes of its "formation". The evolution of the thought that explores and interprets Brazilian culture and its literature will then be investigated through the work of Silviano Santiago and his seminal concept of entre-lugar, as an innovative and unique character of Latin-American literary expression. Finally, the course will focus on some essential interpretative concepts that arose between the 20th and 21st centuries - constitutive authoritarianism; structural racism; perspectivism, etc. - capable of illuminating the characteristics of today's Brazil and its literary expression.
The course program is valid until September 2023. From the summer session 2022 it will be possible to present exclusively the A.A. 2021-22 program.
The course interlaces several relevant moments of the construction and rethinking of the identity of Portugal and Brazil throughout the 20th century, investigating some of the fundamental perspectives from which prose, poetry and criticism have interpreted Portuguese and Brazilian "identity", in a constant dialogue between literary expression and the history of ideas.
The first part focuses on the study of contemporary Portuguese thought that emerges between the end of the 19th century and the end of the 20th century in a time historically crossed by socially and politically relevant contexts (Monarchy, Imperialism, Republic, Estado Novo, Colonialism, Revolution of Carnations, Democracy). The thought on the cultural identity of Portugal by authors such as Fernando Pessoa, António Sérgio, Eduardo Lourenço and José Gil will be the subject of the course.
The second part of course then focuses on the great paradigm of the "formação", with which since the early years of the 20th century theorists such as Paulo Prado, Gilberto Freyre, Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Caio Prado Júnior have begun to reflect on Brazilian identity, on its "essential" features and on the processes of its "formation". The evolution of the thought that explores and interprets Brazilian culture and its literature will then be investigated through the work of Silviano Santiago and his seminal concept of entre-lugar, as an innovative and unique character of Latin-American literary expression. Finally, the course will focus on some essential interpretative concepts that arose between the 20th and 21st centuries - constitutive authoritarianism; structural racism; perspectivism, etc. - capable of illuminating the characteristics of today's Brazil and its literary expression.
The course program is valid until September 2023. From the summer session 2022 it will be possible to present exclusively the A.A. 2021-22 program.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is entirely held in Portuguese. There is no prerequisite.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures, practical activities, presentations.
Teaching Resources
The course has a site on the online platform Ariel (https:// https://vrussolp123.ariel.ctu.unimi.it/), to which reference is made for lecture notes and other materials provided by the teacher. For each teaching unit, specific critical essays on individual works or on general questions will be made available on the site. The following are the mandatory reading materials for the various teaching units.
Examination program for attending students:
Fernando Pessoa, Sul Portogallo, a cura di Vincenzo Russo, Diabasis, Parma, 2014.
António Sérgio, Ensaios I, Sá da Costa Editora, Lisboa, [s.d.]
Eduardo Lourenço, Del colonialismo come impensato: il caso del Portogallo, a cura di R. Vecchi e V. Russo, 2019.
Eduardo Lourenço, Do Brasil: Fascínio e Miragem, Gradiva, Lisboa, 2015.
Eduardo Lourenço, Labirinto da Saudade, Gradiva, Lisboa, 2000 (1ª ed. 1973).
- Roberto Vecchi, "O Brasil não e' para principiantes": modernidades e modernizacões na cultura brasileira do se'culo XX (breve manual para o pronto uso), Estudos di Século XX, n. 9, 2009.
- Silviano Santiago, "O entre-lugar do discurso latino-americano", in Uma literatura nos trópicos, Rio de Janeiro, Rocco, 2020.
- João Guimarães Rosa, "A terceira margem do rio", in Primeiras estórias, Rio de Janeiro, Nova Fronteira, pp. 32-37.
- Dispensa di materiali critici e letterari
Examination program for attending students:
Fernando Pessoa, Sul Portogallo, a cura di Vincenzo Russo, Diabasis, Parma, 2014.
António Sérgio, Ensaios I, Sá da Costa Editora, Lisboa, [s.d.]
Eduardo Lourenço, Del colonialismo come impensato: il caso del Portogallo, a cura di R. Vecchi e V. Russo, 2019.
Eduardo Lourenço, Do Brasil: Fascínio e Miragem, Gradiva, Lisboa, 2015.
Eduardo Lourenço, Labirinto da Saudade, Gradiva, Lisboa, 2000 (1ª ed. 1973).
- Roberto Vecchi, "O Brasil não e' para principiantes": modernidades e modernizacões na cultura brasileira do se'culo XX (breve manual para o pronto uso), Estudos di Século XX, n. 9, 2009.
- Silviano Santiago, "O entre-lugar do discurso latino-americano", in Uma literatura nos trópicos, Rio de Janeiro, Rocco, 2020.
- João Guimarães Rosa, "A terceira margem do rio", in Primeiras estórias, Rio de Janeiro, Nova Fronteira, pp. 32-37.
- Dispensa di materiali critici e letterari
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral test with the teacher of the monographic course.
The oral exam with the teahcer of the course includes questions asked by the teacher and interactions between teacher and student. The exam takes place in Italian. The interview aims to verify the knowledge of the texts studied, the capacity for contextualization, the ability to expose, the precision in the use of specific terminology, the capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed themes.
The final grade is expressed in thirtieths, and the student has the right to refuse it.
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher promptly. The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with DSA must be established with the teacher, in agreement with the competent Office.
The oral exam with the teahcer of the course includes questions asked by the teacher and interactions between teacher and student. The exam takes place in Italian. The interview aims to verify the knowledge of the texts studied, the capacity for contextualization, the ability to expose, the precision in the use of specific terminology, the capacity for critical and personal reflection on the proposed themes.
The final grade is expressed in thirtieths, and the student has the right to refuse it.
International or Erasmus incoming students are invited to contact the teacher promptly. The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with DSA must be established with the teacher, in agreement with the competent Office.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/08 - PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/08 - PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/08 - PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)