Course Description
Course focuses on developing an understanding of Brazilian history through the analysis of music lyrics and important musicians from Brazil. Taught in Portuguese with readings in Portuguese and in English.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will write three extra short papers and a research paper, in addition to doing an oral presentation and supplementary readings.
Athena Title
Brazilian Music
Undergraduate Pre or Corequisite
PORT 3030 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will articulate specific concepts central to music studies, especially with regards to applied ethnomusicology.
- Students will analyze lyrics, identifying common themes and images.
- Students will identify the relationship between Brazilian historical periods and musical genres.
- Students will draw dialogues between music lyrics and Brazilian literature.
- Students will discuss the tensions between tradition and innovation as it applies to Brazilian music.
- Students will identify marginalized voices within the Brazilian musical cannon.
- Students will understand the role of public and private institutions in musical distribution and consumption.
Topical Outline
- I. Introduction. What music can teach us about the invention of Brazil?
- II. The end of slavery and the start of the Republican state: Maxixe and Marchinhas
- III. The beginning of samba, revolution, and the sounds of factories
- IV. Important historical figures: Getulio Vargas, Ary Barroso, and the Era of Radio
- V. Carmen Miranda, Cinema, and Brazil seen from the outside
- VI. Baião Genre, Gonzaga, and the Invention of the Brazilian Northeast
- VII. Tom, João, Alf, and the Invention of Rio de Janeiro
- VIII. The Era of Music Through Television
- IX. Antropofagia and Neo-Cannibalism
- X. Political Redemocratization, Inflation, and RockBR
- XI. The End of the Century: Where is music going now?
- XII. Music from Pernambuco state
- XIII-XV. 21st Century Brazilian Music
