Students within the BA Latin American Studies need to have completed the Propedeuse.
Students who want to follow this course as an elective: please contact tutor. Every effort is made to accommodate interested students.
This course will study a series of road movies and travel narratives. We will consider questions of migration, political exile, the displacement of indigenous tribes or the afro-Brazilian diaspora, and how these lie at the heart of the formation of Brazil as a modern nation and the formation of individual and communal identities. Taking to the road can be both a painful experience and an empowering one, such as when we voluntarily take to the road in journeys of self-discovery. This course examines mobility as central theme and what it can reveal about other fundamental concerns of Brazil: such as mobility and political protest, development and car culture versus environment, the complex relationship between movement, power and gender, including what happens when women take to the road etc. Films are studied within their historical and political contexts to help us understand what they tell us about the making of Brazil in a global context.
Knowledge and insight:
Develop critical and analytical skills through close textual analysis of literary and filmic texts, with particular emphasis on post-1960;
To familiarize students with key Brazilian cultural theories, literary/film criticism and theoretical frameworks that help illuminate the texts at hand;
Academic skills and transferable (useful job market skills) that are developed include:
Oral presentation skills:
1. to explain clear and substantiated class readings (primary/secondary);
2. in the form of a clear and well-structured oral presentation and
3. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria; using up-to-date presentation techniques; aimed at a specific audience;
4. to actively participate in a discussion following the presentation.
1. to be socio-communicative in collaborative situations;
2. to provide and receive constructive criticism, and incorporate justified criticism by revising one’s own position;
3. adhere to agreed schedules and priorities
4. Project/time management skills.
5. Intercultural skills (communicate in different languages; understand cultural nuances etc.)
Basic research skills, including heuristic skills:
1. to collect and select academic literature using traditional and digital methods and techniques;
2. to analyze and assess this literature;
3. to formulate a sound research question (essay title/theme) using the literature provided and possibly additional sources;
4. to design under supervision a research plan/paper of limited scope, and implement it using the methods and techniques that are appropriate within the discipline involved;
5. to formulate a substantiated conclusion.
Written presentation skills:
1. to explain clear and substantiated research results;
2. to provide an answer to questions concerning (a subject) in the field covered by the course
a. in the form of a clear and well-structured written presentation (includes use of digital skills);
b. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria;
c. using relevant illustration or multimedia techniques;
Mode of instruction
Class presentation or audio-visual film clip of approx. 15 mins – 30%
Final essay or podcast (approx. 3000 words) – 70% of overall grade.
Assignments in Portuguese for Major students. Students who are taking the course as elective (non-Brazil track) can do the assignments in English.
Presentation/audio-visual clip – 30%
Final assignment – 70%
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average.
Final assignment re-submission
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list will be made available to students in due course via Brightspace.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Minimum 80% attendance is compulsory.