Module description
The module examines the ways in which Brazilian fiction has articulated and responded to the experiences of social, economic and political upheaval in the second half of the 20th century, with a focus on Brazil's authoritarian tradition, in particular the traumatic military dictatorship of 1964-85 and the process of Democratic Transition in the 1980s and 90s. Themes explored include: anonymity and identity - personal and national; love, sexuality and the family; censorship and repression; ideas of a Brazilian revolution or utopia; popular and mass culture; marginality and exile; history, journalism and alternative approaches to narrative.
The authors include the Lygia Fagundes Telles and Clarice Lispector, with their lyrical explorations of women’s struggles for autonomy and identity; Raduan Nassar and Caio Fernando Abreu and their contrasting narratives of erotic self-exploration and revolt, set within the repressive world of a patriarchal rural immigrant community and the marginal underworld of the modern city, respectively; and Bernardo Kucinski's political fiction revisiting the most traumatic aspects of Brazilian recent history.
Assessment details
One 2000 word tutorial essay (40%); One 2000 word tutorial essay (60%)
Educational aims & objectives
At the end of this module students will not only have a better knowledge of Brazilian literature and culture, but also a greater insight into historical and political issues that had a critical impact in shaping contemporary debates in in Brazil.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable, and practical skills appropriate to a Level 6 module and in particular will be able to demonstrate:
- Knowledge of key themes in Brazilian contemporary culture, politics and society
- The ability to manipulate conceptual frameworks for analysing representations of collective memory, and traumatic political and social phenomena in contemporary Brazil
- The ability to employ appropriate autonomous research strategies in order to plan and complete the module assessment.
Teaching pattern
Two hours per week
Suggested reading list
Core Texts include:
- Lygia Fagundes Telles. The Girl in the Photograph. Translated by Margaret A. Neves. London: Dalkey Archive Press, [1973] 2012.
- Clarice Lispector. The Hour of the Star. Translated by Giovanni Pontiero. Manchester: Carcanet, [1977] 1986.
- Raduan Nassar. Ancient Tillage. Translated by K.S. Sotelino. London: Penguin, [1975] 2015.
- Caio Fernando Abreu. Dragons… Translated by David Treece. London: Boulevard [1988] 1990.
- Bernardo Kucinski. K. Translated by Sue Branford. London: Latin American Bureau, [2011] 2013.