Explores the construction of Brazil and its diaspora since 1500 through documents, scholarly works, fiction, music and film. Topics include: environmental change, colonization and its impact on indigenous peoples, African slavery and its legacies, migration to and from Brazil, gender norms, politics and economic development, the rise of mass culture, urbanization and industrialization, how outsiders have viewed Brazil, and the impact of all these on Brazilians’ struggle to define what is “Brazilian.” The course will try to connect class and campus to Brazilian communities of southern New England.

John Bezis-Selfa