New Courses
Imagens, 1984
Ibêre Camargo (1914-1994)
Portuguese 202 - oo1 Intermediate Portuguese II
(3 credit hours) Agripino Silveira
M T W Th F 4:00 – 6:00 pm
4 week course
June 9 – July 5, 2008
This course aims at improving the students’ speaking ability through conversation and pronunciation practice. It is essentially a conversation course focusing on issues related to Brazil such as music, film, popular culture, etc. The themes will be related to culture and also to contemporary-worldwide issues. Classes are communicative (videos, songs, and other devices will be employed to facilitate learning) and require the constant use of Portuguese. Students will have the opportunity to do their research about Brazil and prepare a presentation for class. Grades are based on participation, homework assignments, and an oral presentation at the end of the course.
Portuguese 101 – oo1 Elementary Portuguese I
(3 credit hours)
Lígia Bezerra
M W F 10 – 10:50 am
The first in a two course sequence for students who have little or no previous experience with Portuguese, Spanish, or and any other Romance language. This course presents Portuguese as a world language and it is designed to develop the students’ language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Course Objectives:
In this course students are expected to develop the ability to communicate in Portuguese in everyday situations. By the end of this course the students will be able to:
(1) Listen and comprehend the instructor and peers in situations of personal experience involving university life, friends, entertaining and family;
(2) Understand reading assignments about selected topics on the cultural diversity of Brazil, discuss and compare cultural elements (behaviors and values);
(3) Develop and demonstrate oral abilities to communicate, know how to ask and answer questions, practice daily activities, and describe people, places and events, express feelings and preferences, talk about past events in context of daily life and future actions;
(4) Apply acquired grammatical skills to the practice of reading and writing skills. Grades are based on exams, homework, and regular classroom participation and approximately two hours of outside preparation for every hour of class. The class meets 3 days a week.
Portuguese 102 – oo1 Elementary Portuguese II
(3 credit hours)
Simoni Valadares
M W F 1 – 1:50 pm
The second in a two course sequence for students who have little or no previous experience with Portuguese, Spanish, or and any other Romance language. This course presents Portuguese as a world language and it is designed to develop the students’ language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In this course students are expected to develop ability to communicate in Portuguese, in expanded situations of communications in daily life.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course the students will be able to:
(1) Listen and comprehend the instructor, peers and others, in different situations of interactions involving life in the different capital cities of Brazil, the love of soccer, different styles of homes and popular and religious holidays in the Portuguese-speaking world;
(2) Understand the reading assignments about selected topics on the cultural diversity of Brazil, discuss and compare cultural elements (behaviors and values);
(3) Develop and demonstrate oral abilities to communicate, know how to ask and answer questions, practice daily activities and beyond, describe people, places and events, express feelings preferences, and opinions and talk about events in context of daily life and beyond;
(4) Apply acquired grammatical skills to the practice of reading and writing. Grades are based on exams, homework, and regular classroom participation with approximately two hours of outside preparation for every hour of class. The class meets 3 days a week.
Course prerequisite: Portuguese 101
Portuguese 275 – oo1 Intensive Beginning Portuguese - for Spanish Speakers -
(6 credit hours)
Michele Henrique
M W F 1 - 1:50 pm & T Th 12:30 - 1:45 pm
Portuguese 275 is designed to introduce you to Portuguese and develop your language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In this course you will develop your ability to communicate in Portuguese in everyday situations. This course is an intensive language class designed for native Spanish speakers or for students with three years of college level Spanish. The pace of this class is accelerated because of the similarities between both languages. The course utilizes the students knowledge of Spanish for comparison and as a base for building Portuguese language skills. Written and oral assignments will be based on Brazil's cultural aspects and daily life experiences. Grades are based on exams, daily homework, journal writing, and regular class participation. Daily work involves: writing short paragraphs, short oral presentations, oral reports about different cultural aspects and participation on short workshops interviewing other Brazilian speakers who will come to visit the class. Homework: writing compositions, short paragraphs and workbook exercises.
Course Objectives:
Grammar & Vocabulary Skills - To communicate about topics in and beyond one’s own personal life in the present, past and future tenses and to identify grammar differences between Portuguese and Spanish;
Cultural Understanding - To contrast cultural themes and behaviors between the Portuguese speaking world and Spanish speaking countries. To demonstrate cultural awareness of the target language by sharing information with classmates and the community;
Writing - To express oneself through writing in Portuguese avoiding the use of Spanish and managing the differences between both languages;
Listening/ Oral Production - To express oneself orally in the present, past and future tenses with awareness of intonation and pronunciation dissimilarities between the target language and Spanish. Recognize of fluency and pronunciation in order to imitate native speakers and manage to speak Portuguese without Spanish interference.
Portuguese 275 – oo2 Intensive Beginning Portuguese
(6 credit hours)
Fernanda Bartolomei
M W F 11 - 11:50 am & T Th 11:00 am - 12:15 pm
The first in a two semester sequence of accelerated coursework for students with little knowledge of Spanish, or any other Romance language, who want to learn Portuguese quickly. This course introduces Portuguese as a world language with activities conducted in Portuguese during class: small group activities, dialogues, answering and asking questions, watching videos, practicing grammar structures, listening to songs and doing activities based on them. The course requires regular classroom participation and approximately two hours of outside preparation for every hour of class. The student will be exposed to topics such as family, university, friends, traditions and leisure time. Grades are based on exams, homework, daily work in class, class participation and oral presentations. The class meets five days a week.
Course Objectives:
1. To listen and comprehend the instructor and one’s peers in situations of personal experience involving university life, friends, entertaining, family and holidays.
2. To understand reading assignments about selected topics on the cultures of Brazil and Portugal, discuss and compare cultural behavior and values.
3. To develop and demonstrate oral abilities to communicate, know how to ask and answer questions, practice daily activities, describe people, places and events, express feelings and preferences, talk and express opinions about past events and make comparisons.
4. Practice writing skills and apply acquired grammatical structures to compositions.
Portuguese 276 - oo1 Intensive Intermediate Portuguese
(6 credit hours)
Lígia Bezerra
M W F 1 – 1:50 pm & T Th 12:30 – 1:45 pm
Portuguese 276 is an intensive intermediate course in Portuguese. The student will further develop language skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. The course will use a textbook as its main pedagogical support, and will also take advantage of a series of different materials, such as movies, episodes of Brazilian TV programs, games, the internet, music and so on. It will be conducted in Portuguese through the use of communicative activities aimed at developing the four language skills. Active participation of the students during these tasks is absolutely required. Grading will be based on attendance, daily work, oral presentations, quizzes, compositions, a mid-term and a final exam.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of Portuguese 276 students developed language skills should allow them to: Speaking - Verbally exchange meaningful information and express personal opinions in interactions with classmates and with native speakers, engage in both informal and formal situations; monitor and control pronunciation and fluency.
Listening - Analyze and summarize information through the use of context to comprehend aural input; understand specific information; identify language variation in the Portuguese-speaking world, specifically the different varieties in Brazil.
Reading - Comprehend longer expository articles on different topics, including specialized texts, using a range of reading strategies; understand different types of texts such as charts and tables, job announcements, recipes, formal and informal letters and e-mails; explore and appreciate literary texts.
Writing - Compose formal and informal texts, such as letters and e-mails, develop an argument with appropriate rhetorical devices, compose creative writing in response to the appreciation of literary texts.
Culture - Contextualize behavior within its larger cultural framework, be able to use appropriate gestures and language to express requests, compliments, complaints and apologies; become aware of historical, institutional or mythical cultural practices and products as presented in films, songs or online resources; make comparisons between the Lusophone and the American cultures.
Course prerequisite: Portuguese 275
Portuguese 312 / 512 - oo1 Culture and Conversation
(3 credit hours)
Margo Milleret
M W F 2 – 2:50 pm
This course will help students improve their Portuguese language skills and cultural understanding of Brazil. In order to achieve this goal, students will listen and practice their pronunciation of Brazilian Portuguese. They will analyze and perform dramatic scenes that focus on key communication skills or speech acts in Brazilian Portuguese. They will use digital video recorders in order to assist them in speaking and performing better. Reading materials will address Brazilian culture and customs.
Course Objectives:
1) Students will demonstrate improved pronunciation of spoken Portuguese by understanding and practicing Portuguese sounds.
2) In their homework and on the final exam students will demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication and Brazilian culture.
3) In their filmed performances of speech act scenes, students will demonstrate appropriate verbal and body expressions for Brazilian culture as well as familiarity with digital video-making equipment.
Course prerequisite: Portuguese 276
Portuguese 414 / 514 – oo1 Brazilian Dictatorship
(3 credit hours)
Margo Milleret
M W 4 – 5:15 pm
This class will take an interdisciplinary look at the last forty years of Brazilian history, economics, literature, and politics. Guest lecturers will address the years of the dictatorship (1964-1985) and the years following the dictatorship (1985-present) through the lens of common issues, such as human rights, economic development, censorship, race relations and artistic expression. All lectures and discussions will be conducted in Portuguese. Evaluation will be based on class reading assignments, presentations and written research papers.
Course Objectives:
1) Through their class participation, written work, and comprehension of reading assignments, students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical events, vocabulary and key concepts related to the topics addressed in class.
2) Through their take home exams students will demonstrate a deeper knowledge and analysis of research questions based on the course topics, as well as the appropriate language, arguments, and documentation necessary to communicate their views.
Course prerequisite: Portuguese 311 or 312
Portuguese 417 / 517 - oo1 Popular Brazilian Music II
(3 credit hours)
Leila Lehnen
T Th 2 – 3:15 pm
Survey of Brazilian popular music and popular culture from the 1950s to the twenty-first century. This course will concentrate on the developments of Brazilian popular culture from the second half of the twentieth-century to the contemporary period. We will study Brazilian popular music, textual production as well as media production and how these cultural phenomena relate to the country’s social, political and historical contexts. Grading Components: Preparation and participation, class presentation, mid-semester and final projects. Class will be conducted in Portuguese. Course prerequisite: Portuguese 311 or 312
Portuguese 512 - oo1 Culture and Conversation
(3 credit hours)
Margo Milleret
M W F 2 – 2:50 pm
This course will help students improve their Portuguese language skills and cultural understanding of Brazil. In order to achieve this goal, students will listen and practice their pronunciation of Brazilian Portuguese. They will analyze and perform dramatic scenes that focus on key communication skills or speech acts in Brazilian Portuguese. They will use digital video recorders in order to assist them in speaking and performing better. Reading materials will address Brazilian culture and customs.
Course Objectives:
1) Students will demonstrate improved pronunciation of spoken Portuguese by understanding and practicing Portuguese sounds.
2) In their homework and on the final exam students will demonstrate their understanding of the relationship between verbal and non-verbal communication and Brazilian culture.
3) In their filmed performances of speech act scenes, students will demonstrate appropriate verbal and body expressions for Brazilian culture as well as familiarity with digital video-making equipment.
Portuguese 514 – oo1 Brazilian Dictatorship
(3 credit hours)
Margo Milleret
M W 4 – 5:15 pm
This class will take an interdisciplinary look at the last forty years of Brazilian history, economics, literature, and politics. Guest lecturers will address the years of the dictatorship (1964-1985) and the years following the dictatorship (1985-present) through the lens of common issues, such as human rights, economic development, censorship, race relations and artistic expression. All lectures and discussions will be conducted in Portuguese. Evaluation will be based on class reading assignments, presentations and written research papers.
Course Objectives:
1) Through their class participation, written work, and comprehension of reading assignments, students will demonstrate an understanding of the historical events, vocabulary and key concepts related to the topics addressed in class.
2) Through their take home exams students will demonstrate a deeper knowledge and analysis of research questions based on the course topics, as well as the appropriate language, arguments, and documentation necessary to communicate their views.
Portuguese 517 - oo1 Popular Brazilian Music II
(3 credit hours)
Leila Lehnen
T Th 2 – 3:15 pm
Survey of Brazilian popular music and popular culture from the 1950s to the twenty-first century. This course will concentrate on the developments of Brazilian popular culture from the second half of the twentieth-century to the contemporary period. We will study Brazilian popular music, textual production as well as media production and how these cultural phenomena relate to the country’s social, political and historical contexts. Grading Components: Preparation and participation, class presentation, mid-semester and final projects. Class will be conducted in Portuguese.
Portuguese 561 - oo1 History of the Portuguese Language
(3 credit hours)
Neddy A. Vigil
M W F 3 – 3:50 pm
This course studies the historical evolution of the Portuguese language. A short overview of general Iberian history sets the stage followed by a preliminary view of Latin phonology and grammar. It then concentrates on the phonological morphological and syntactic changes necessary to arrive at Galician-Portuguese. The thirteenth-century "Cantiga de amigo” poems will then be used to illustrate the changes learned. After analysis of the language in these medieval texts the focus will be on the subsequent linguistic development.
Portuguese 570 – oo1 Citizens of Consumption: Latin American Fiction of the Post-Dictatorship
Leila Lehnen
T 4 – 6:30 pm
(3 credit hours)
Can a generation of writers raised on MTV and McDonald’s instead of Cien años de soledad speak about contemporary Latin American culture? How are nation and citizenship formulated in Latin America after the trauma of the dictatorial years? Can nationhood and national belonging still be articulated through the same discursive mechanisms as before the military regimes that ruled many Latin American countries well into the late twentieth-century? In this seminar we will discuss how contemporary Latin American cultural production, particularly literature and cinema, represent and, at the same time, interrogate the national historical memory of the dictatorial and post-dictatorship years. We will read recent novels from several Latin American countries that posit national belonging no longer in terms of utopian projects that have prevailed since colonial times but rather as rituals of consumption and practices of postmodern tribalism. At the same time, we will also view films that portray both the authoritarian experience and its aftermath in Latin America examining these in a comparative and contrastive framework vis-à-vis the literary texts. Grading Components: Short abstract, class presentation and final paper.