Brazil is the Portuguese-speaking power of Latin America. In this course we will study the history of modern Brazil from independence to the present day, and discuss the contemporary developments that have transformed Brazil into an international force today. We will pay close attention to the construction of national institutions and culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will examine the major political, economic, and cultural movements that defined Brazilian history during the empire, the first republic, the Vargas era, and the military dictatorship. We will conclude with a look at Brazil's representative democracy from the 1980s to the present. (formerly HIST 0211) 3 hr. lect.