Political and economic history will be complemented with social history, including questions of gender, race and ethnicity. Up to one meeting per week will be devoted to discussion of class readings. This course will examine Brazilian history from independence in 1822 to the present. Brazil of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was a dynamic society undergoing rapid social, political, and economic changes. It shifted from an agrarian slaveholding society to a modern industrial nation whose population was augmented by successive waves of European, Middle Eastern, and Japanese immigrants.
Brazil is characterized by racial, ethnic and regional diversity.
This course will explore this varied mosaic examining Brazilian development from economic, political, social, intellectual and cultural historical perspective. Race relations, the role of women, immigrants, the working class, the military and elites will be explored. We will also examine the role of the Church, liberation theology. Afro-Brazilian religions and contemporary issues such as Brazil's environmental movement. Requirements include a midterm and final exam, two short critical essays, and a 12-15 page research paper as well as participation in class discussions.