| Course ID: | PORT 2550. 3 hours. Repeatable for maximum 9 hours credit. |
| Course Title: | Luso-Brazilian Culture in the United States |
Course
Description: | In this course, students will be introduced to how the rich cultural traditions of Brazil, Portugal, and Portuguese-speaking Africa and Asia are connected to the United States through immigration and cross-cultural relationships. Taught in English. |
| Oasis Title: | Luso Brazil Culture in U.S. |
Semester Course
Offered: | Offered every year. |
| Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
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| Course Objectives: | This course will enable students with little or no language ability in Portuguese to explore topics of current cultural interest in Brazil, Lusophone Africa, and/or Portugal, and these cultural traditions in the United States.
They will improve their oral/aural, written, and interpretive skills by analyzing, in English, representative texts, films, and other media. This will be accomplished through classroom discussions and various written assignments, as well as the midterm and final examinations. Students will write response papers, a final term paper, and prepare at least one group presentation. |
| Topical Outline: | - Introduction and syllabus
- The role of immigration in the USA
- What is there in a name? Our ancestors and their contribution. Dictionary of American Immigration.
- Basques, Caribbean Immigrants, Creoles, Cubans, Caucasians in Hawaii, Hispanics, Italians, Mexicans, Portuguese, Spaniards, Immigrant Autobiographies, Immigrant Languages
- Historical overview of American immigration
- Introduction to the waves of immigration from Portuguese speaking countries-regions.
- Three main groups: continental Portugal/Azores, Cape Verde, and Brazil.
- PORTUGAL: The Portuguese as a nation of migrants: age of exploration, early immigration, and recurring themes in Lusophone literature.
- Steerage
- The voyage - emigrants and immigrants in transit. The hopeful departure v. the disappointing return.
- "The Stowaway's Christmas" - the symbolic story of all immigrants, stowaways, illegal immigrants, etc. "Feast at the Table of my Father's Body", Amy Sayre-Roberts.
- Cultural conflict
- "Johnny and Dan," Álamo Oliveira. Portuguese Spinner: An American Story.
- "Azorean Dreams" by Onésimo T. Almeida; Through a Portagee Gate.
- CAPE VERDE: The Cape Verdeans: Between Race and Ethnicity.
- Origins, identity, strategies of integration, an invisible community.
- BRAZIL: Margolis.
- An Invisible Minority- Preface and chapter I
- New trends in immigration, contrasts, and similarities with Cape.
- Verdeans and other Latin American immigrants. Samba Dreamers. Film: A Fronteira. |