19 courses with the subject POR, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
POR 110Beginning Portuguese through Music I4
An introduction to spoken and written Brazilian Portuguese. Emphasis on the development of oral proficiency and acquisition of reading and writing skills. Students are introduced to the Portuguese-speaking world primarily through music from Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde. Students will acquire knowledge in basic grammatical patterns and strategies in daily communication. Designed for students with no background in Portuguese. Enrollment limited to 20.
A continuation of POR110. Development of conversational communication, listening comprehension, reading skills and cultural knowledge through music. Prerequisite: POR 110 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}
This is an accelerated beginning language and culture course (one-semester) that presents a condensed introduction to Brazilian Portuguese with the objective of creating a foundation for students in all four language modalities: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The course also introduces aspects of the cultures and societies of Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) countries. Students can enroll in a POR 200 course the following semester. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}
POR 125Elementary Portuguese for Spanish Speakers4
A one-semester introduction to Brazilian Portuguese designed for speakers of Spanish, aimed at basic proficiency in all four language modalities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Classes are in Portuguese and students’ individual knowledge of Spanish supports the accelerated pace of the course, with contrastive approaches to pronunciation and grammar. The course also provides an introduction to aspects of the cultures of Brazil, Portugal and Portuguese-speaking Africa, with discussion of authentic audio-visual materials and short texts. Prerequisite: SPN 220, by placement exam or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}
This course serves as a comprehensive grammar review with a focus on Brazilian media. In addition to a grammar textbook, students use several other sources to stimulate class discussion, as well as to improve reading comprehension, writing skills, and vocabulary-building in Portuguese, including a selection of media forms and texts, websites, television, radio, and film. Prerequisite: POR 120 or POR 125, or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}
This course focuses on developing skills in both spoken and written Portuguese and is designed for students who have already learned the fundamentals of grammar. Topics for compositions, class discussions and oral reports are based on short literary texts as well as journalistic articles, music and film. Prerequisite: POR 100Y, POR 110, POR 125 or POR 200. Enrollment limited to 20. {F}
POR 220MBTopics in Portuguese and Brazilian Literature and Culture-Mapping Brazilian Culture onto an Urban Grid4
This course addresses a broad range of urban, social and cultural issues while also strengthening skills in oral expression, reading and writing, through the medium of short stories, essays, articles, images, music and film. In order to promote a hands-on approach to understanding culture, class assignments also encourage students to explore the Brazilian community in Boston. Prerequisite: POR 100Y or POR 125, or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18. {F}{L}
POR 222Brazil in the News: Media, Society and Popular Culture4
This intermediate language course will serve as a grammar review and will help students develop greater facility in oral expression, reading and writing, through work with a variety of digital, broadcast, and print media. Class discussions and assignments will consider key issues and trends in contemporary Brazilian society and culture as expressed through a selection of media forms and texts, such as newspaper and magazine articles, websites, television and radio programs, advertisements, graphic novels, and films. Conducted in Portuguese. Prerequisite: (POR 110 and POR 111) or POR 125 or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 18. {A}{F}{L}
Engaging with diverse examples and forms of poetic expression and performance – ranging from poems and songs to plays and popular festivals – this course explores facets of modern and contemporary culture and society in Brazil while developing facility in oral expression, listening and reading comprehension, and writing in Portuguese. The course is designed at the intermediate to advanced-intermediate level. Prerequisite: POR 120 or POR 125. Enrollment limited to 18. {F}{L}
This course examines Brazil from the standpoint of its regional diversity, from which the country’s cultural richness is drawn. The class will study works of literature, visual culture, music and culinary history in order to discuss Brazil’s regional, economic and racial differences, for the purpose of analyzing its identity as a multidimensional nation. Moreover, because of the country’s size and geographical location, students interested in comparative studies within Latin America will have a chance to look at each of Brazil’s regions in relation to its closest South American and Caribbean neighbors. Course taught in Portuguese. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}{F}{L}
POR 228Indigenous Brazil: Past, Present and Future4
This interdisciplinary course considers the diverse histories, cultures and experiences of Indigenous individuals and peoples in Brazil, from the precolonial period into the present and including future oriented forms of Native activism and imagination. The class addresses specific case studies and broad themes, including territorial and environmental struggles, meanings and forms of Indigenous education, indigenous movements and leaders, legal and cultural status of indigeneity in a multiracial society, indigenous artistic practices and the dynamics of intercultural exchange and influence in Brazilian society at large. Conducted in Portuguese, with activities designed to improve proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Prerequisite: POR 200 or POR 215, or another 200-level course in Brazilian or Comparative Lusophone Culture and Society taught in Portuguese. Enrollment limited to 19. {A}{F}{L}
POR 232Popular Music, Nationhood and Globalization in the Portuguese-Speaking World4
An introduction to popular music genres in Portuguese-speaking nations, the historical, socio-cultural and political forces that have shaped their emergence, and ways in which they communicate ideas of nationhood. The course also explores impacts of globalization on these genres and their transnational dissemination. The approach involves close readings of lyrics, analysis of musical form and influence, and attention to the broader cultural contexts surrounding songs, genres, and musicians. Genres may include bossa nova, MPB, and forró (Brazil); fado (Portugal); morna (Cape Verde); kuduro (Angola); marrabenta (Mozambique); and transnational forms such as rock and hop-hop. Course taught in Portuguese. {A}{F}{L}
POR 233Borderlands of Portuguese: Multilingualism, Language Policy and Identity4
This course considers the shifting borders of Portuguese as a local, national and global language. The course explores language diversity within and across Lusophone countries and communities, noting differences in pronunciation and vocabulary and ways in which some varieties are esteemed and others stigmatized. The course examines how different institutions have promoted and shaped Portuguese within and beyond officially Portuguese-speaking nations, and addresses multilingualism and ways in which Portuguese interacts with English, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole and Indigenous languages in Brazil and Africa. Throughout, students consider views of writers and musicians as they reflect upon the language of their creative expression and what it means to be Lusophone in the world today. Course taught in Portuguese. Prerequisite: POR 125 or POR 200, or equivalent. {F}{L}
POR 301Colloquium: LGBTQ+ Brazil: Advocacy and Art4
This course introduces students to the broader issues related to LGBTQ+ Brazil, with a focus on gender identity, LGBTQ+ rights, activism and cultural production. The course is structured through broad categories consisting of histories, movements and chronology; geographies of identity and resistance; representations in art, literature, film and popular culture; and activism and organizations. Taught in English. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}{L}
POR 302Colloquium: Theatre of the Oppressed In and Beyond Brazil: Introduction to Theory and Practice4
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of the Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.), conceived by Augusto Boal and inspired by Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The class discusses how Boal’s method promotes dialogue as an effective communication tool; when dialogue becomes monologue, oppression begins. The course includes the work of director, performer, and writer Barbara Santos and her feminist perspective of the T.O. In addition to learning about T.O. games, techniques, methodologies, and practical applications, students explore other aspects of Brazilian culture including Capoeira, Afro-Brazilian religions, music, and culinary arts, as they relate to human rights, social equity, the environment, and political power. All course content is in English, with texts in the original language for students who read Portuguese. Enrollment limited to 25. {L}{S}
POR 381BPSeminar: Topics in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies-Brasil Profundo: the Environmental Imaginary in Brazilian Culture4
This interdisciplinary seminar topic familiarizes students with Brazilian landscapes and socio-biodiversity through an examination of different modes of environmental representation. The course addresses a variety of historical and contemporary topics, including environmental politics, conflicts, and movements and forms of environmental thinking and representation from different periods and perspectives – colonial, post-colonial, and decolonial; Indigenous and Quilombola; artistic, journalistic, scientific, and activist. Throughout, the course considers ways in which power, culture, and ideology are implicated in different paradigms of environmental representation. Course conducted in Portuguese. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {A}{F}{L}
POR 381DISeminar: Topics in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies- Decolonial Imaginaries and Aesthetics4
This course explores some of the entangled and contested colonial and postcolonial histories of diverse Portuguese-language communities through the work of writers, visual artists, filmmakers and musicians from Africa, Europe and the Americas. The class discusses colonialism and its legacies, migratory and diasporic flows, contemporary contours of a Portuguese-language transnationalism, and decolonization as a concept encompassing a range of social activism and as expressed or envisioned in different forms of cultural production. Course conducted in Portuguese. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in Brazilian or comparative Lusophone culture and society taught in Portuguese. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Instructor permission required. Enrollment limited to 12. {A}{F}{L}
POR 381FWSeminar: Topics in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies-Multiple Lenses of Marginality: New Brazilian Filmmaking by Women4
This course makes reference to the pioneering legacy of key figures in Brazilian filmmaking, such as Susana Amaral, Helena Solberg and Tizuka Yamasaki. These directors’ early works addressed issues of gender and social class biases by subtly shifting the focus of their films to marginalized or peripheral subjects. We also examine the work of contemporary filmmakers, among them Lúcia Murat, Tata Amaral, Laís Bodanzky and Anna Muylaert, focusing on the ways in which they incorporate sociopolitical topics and/or gender issues. Course conducted in Portuguese. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in Portuguese, or the equivalent. Restrictions: Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required. {A}{F}
