Courses 2007-2008

 

Portuguese

Primarily for Undergraduates
Portuguese A. Beginning Portuguese
Catalog Number: 7130
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff
Full course (indivisible). M., W., F., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 5
Designed to introduce the student with little or no knowledge of the language to the Portuguese-speaking world. Teaches fundamental communication skills—understanding, speaking, reading, and writing—and, at the same time, provides exposure to the culture and civilization of Brazil and Portugal through media broadcasts, literature readings, films, music, and videotapes. By the end of the course, students should be able to communicate easily with native speakers as well as be acquainted with basic elements of Luso-Brazilian culture.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students. Not open to auditors. Section on-line on the Portuguese A website.

Portuguese Ac. Beginning Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
Catalog Number: 0430
Clémence Joüet-Pastré and staff
Half course (fall term). M., W., F., at 12 or 1. EXAM GROUP: 5, 6
An introductory language course designed for Spanish-English bilinguals. Along with the fundamental communication skills—understanding, speaking, reading and writing—the course will focus on those features of Portuguese which are most difficult for Spanish speakers: pronunciation, idioms and grammatical structures particular to Portuguese. Students will be introduced to the cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world through readings and authentic materials, including films, music, and videotapes.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students. Open to Spanish-English bilinguals. Not open to auditors. Section on-line on the Portuguese Ac website.
Prerequisite: 750 on the Spanish SAT II or the Harvard Placement test; 5 on the Spanish AP test; or a 40s level Spanish course.

Portuguese Ad. Beginning Portuguese for Spanish Speakers
Catalog Number: 1315
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff
Half course (spring term). M., W., F., at 12 or 1. EXAM GROUP: 5
A continuation of Portuguese Ac. By the end of the second term, students should be able to communicate easily with native speakers and be acquainted with basic elements of Luso-Brazilian culture.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students. Not open to auditors. Section on-line on the Portuguese Ad website.
Prerequisite: Portuguese Ac.

Portuguese Ba. Introduction to Portuguese
Catalog Number: 0514
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff
Half course (spring term). Section I: M., W., 3–5; Section II: Tu., Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
A basic introductory course for students who can devote only one term to the study of Portuguese. Teaches fundamental communication skills—understanding, speaking, reading and writing—but does not offer a complete study of grammar.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail, but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students. Not open to auditors. Section on-line on the Portuguese Ba website.

Portuguese Ca. Intermediate Portuguese I
Catalog Number: 7692
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff
Half course (fall term). Section 1: M., W., 2–3:30; Section II: Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
A beginning intermediate course for students interested in expanding and strengthening their basic Portuguese linguistic skills. Reading, writing, and conversational competency is emphasized through the study of the Luso-African-Brazilian cultures. The course aims to promote cross-cultural understanding through the use of authentic materials such as literary texts, multimedia, film, music, and videotapes.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. Recommended for students who wish to improve their ability to speak and write Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail. Section on-line on the Portuguese Ca website.
Prerequisite: Portuguese A or permission of course head.

Portuguese Cb. Intermediate Portuguese II
Catalog Number: 2799
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
Aims to further develop the four communicative skills while expanding students’ background knowledge of the history and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. Portuguese Cb covers the important grammar points not studied in Portuguese Ca.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail. Section on-line on the Portuguese Cb website.
Prerequisite: Portuguese Ca or permission of course head.

Portuguese 37. Brasil hoje: Contemporary Brazilian Culture through Media
Catalog Number: 5024
Clémence Jouët-Pastré
Half course (fall term). Section l: M., W., 2:30–4; Section ll: Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Students engage in systematic grammar review, along with practice in writing and vocabulary enrichment, while examining contemporary Brazil as presented in the Portuguese-language press, television, literature, and film. They analyze the ways Brazilians and non-Brazilians construct different and conflicting images of Brazil and “Brazilness.” Issues of race relations, national identity, ethnicity, and gender addressed. Discussions based on historical and literary tests, advertisements, films, videotapes of Brazilian television, and current issues of newspapers and magazines.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail, but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students.
Prerequisite: Portuguese Ca/Cb or permission of course head.

Portuguese 44 (formerly Portuguese 38). Images of Brazil: Contemporary Brazilian Cinema
Catalog Number: 8893
Clémence Jouët-Pastré
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 2:30–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Examines major Brazilian films in their historical, political, and social context. Class discussion also focuses on documentaries, reviews, and critical articles. In-depth textual and grammatical analysis, vocabulary building, reflections on the similarities and differences of the oral and written Portuguese will lead students to achieve a high level of competency.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese. May not be taken Pass/Fail, but may be taken Sat/Unsat by GSAS students. Section on-line on the Portuguese 44 website.
Prerequisite: Portuguese Ca/Cb or permission of course head.

Portuguese 60 (formerly Portuguese 40). Portuguese and the Community
Catalog Number: 3322
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and staff.
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1 plus four hours of activity-based learning per week. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
An advanced language course examining the Luso-African-Brazilian experience in the US. Promotes community engagement as a vehicle for greater linguistic fluency and cultural understanding. Students will be placed with Boston-area community organizations and agencies. Class work focuses on readings and films by and about Luis-African-Brazilians and specific uses of Portuguese language from these communities. Authors include D. Macedo, Braga Martes, Margolis, Sales, Albues, and Villas Boas.
Note: Section on-line on the Portuguese 60 website.
Prerequisite: Portuguese 37, 38 or a score of 100 on the Harvard Placement Test.

*Portuguese 91r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 5589
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and members of the Department and Tutorial Board
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Advanced reading in topics not covered in regular courses.
Note: Limited to juniors and seniors.

*Portuguese 97. Tutorial — Sophomore Year
Catalog Number: 5769
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and members of the Department and Tutorial Board
Half course (spring term). M., W., 2–3:30. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Successful completion of one term of Portuguese 97 is required of all concentrators in their sophomore year.

*Portuguese 98. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 8667
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and members of the Department and Tutorial Board
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Successful completion of one term of Portuguese 98r is required of all honors concentrators. To enroll see course head.

*Portuguese 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 8753
Clémence Jouët-Pastré and members of the Department and Tutorial Board
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
For honors seniors writing a thesis. Successful completion of one term of Portuguese 99 is required of all honors concentrators. To enroll, see course head.

 

For Undergraduates and Graduates
[Portuguese 118 (formerly Portuguese 219ar). Major Poems of the Portuguese Language I]
Catalog Number: 2192
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A study of major lyrical texts of the Portuguese language, from medieval times to the present, with emphasis on poetry written in Portugal and Brazil after 1900. The approach is comparative, focusing on the formal aspects of poetry (meter, rhyme, rhythm).
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Conducted in Portuguese.

[Portuguese 119 (formerly Portuguese 219br). Major Poems of the Portuguese Language II]
Catalog Number: 3242
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
A continuation of Portuguese 118.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Conducted in Portuguese.

Portuguese 122a. Introduction to the Literature of Portugal I
Catalog Number: 2943
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
The main currents of Portuguese literature. Emphasis on major authors, literary schools, and socio-aesthetic ideas from Gil Vicente and Camões to Eça de Queiroz, Fernando Pessoa, Jorge de Sena and José Saramago. Aims to teach students to read Portuguese texts and to think and write about them in a broad Western European context.
Prerequisite: Excellent reading knowledge of Portuguese.

Portuguese 122b. Introduction to the Literature of Portugal II
Catalog Number: 3654
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
A continuation of Portuguese 122a.
Prerequisite: Excellent reading knowledge of Portuguese.

[Portuguese 141. The Short Stories of Machado de Assis ]
Catalog Number: 8700
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Analyzes Machado’s short stories in chronological order of composition, emphasizing their social content, the idiosyncratic behavior of their characters, and the author’s use of language to convey the ambiguities of human nature.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Conducted in Portuguese and English.

[Portuguese 150. Seminal Sounds, Images and Words in Brazilian Culture]
Catalog Number: 0596
Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Underscores some of the moments, works and artists which contributed to fundamental changes in Brazilian culture, either in the aesthetic, ethic or cognitive senses. Throughout the course, local culture will always be considered in relationship with its European, Latin American and North American counterparts.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Conducted in Portuguese.

Portuguese 155. Performing Arts, Literature and Culture in Modern Brazil
Catalog Number: 3301
Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
One of the main features of Brazilian culture is the way by which all forms of artistic creation tend to converge and coalesce into organic units, more often than not centered on music and dance. This course will try to explore and understand the driving forces behind this multi-artistic instinct.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese.

Cross-listed courses
Linguistics 110. Introduction to Linguistics

Primarily for Graduates
Portuguese 222. Introduction to Camões
Catalog Number: 2995
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Study of the epic and lyric poetry of Camões in the context of the European Renaissance. Special attention given to the love sonnets and to the lyrical passages of The Lusiads.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese.

Portuguese 227. Fernando Pessoa
Catalog Number: 7375
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Study of the works of Portugal’s most distinguished literary figure of the 20th century as poet, critic, and prose writer, as well as his relation to the corpus of Portuguese literature.
Note: Conducted in Portuguese and English.

[Portuguese 251. Culture in Turmoil: Brazil in the 60s and 70s]
Catalog Number: 7461
Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo)
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A discussion of some of the most creative and exciting trends in modern Brazilian culture that arose in resistance to military dictatorship: Tropicalismo, Concretismo and Neo-Concretismo, MPB, Cinema Novo, Teatro de Arena and Literatura Marginal.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Conducted in Portuguese.

Portuguese 266. Urban Explosion: City and Culture in Rio and Sao Paulo
Catalog Number: 8916
Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo)
Half course (spring term). Th., 5–7 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 18
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, energetic centers of cultural creativity in modern Brazil, also experienced exponential urban growth, laying groundwork for extreme social tension, political unrest and widespread violence. Can culture play a role to curb urban malaise?
Note: Conducted in Portuguese.

Graduate Courses of Reading and Research
See Note to Graduate Courses of Reading and Research in French.

*Portuguese 320. Literature of Portugal: Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 6733
Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo) 5229 (spring term only) and Joaquim-Francisco Coelho 7715

*Portuguese 321. Literature of Brazil: Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 5933
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho 7715 and Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo) 5229 (spring term only)

*Portuguese 330. Direction of Doctoral Dissertations
Catalog Number: 4072
Joaquim-Francisco Coelho 7715, Bradley S. Epps 2880, Luis Fernández-Cifuentes 2091, Mary M. Gaylord 2632, Nicolau Sevcenko (Universidade de São Paulo) 5229 (spring term only), and Doris Sommer 2744