HISTORY 471
HISTORY OF BRAZIL

http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams/courses/Spring12/HIST471
http://elms.umd.edu
Last updated: Monday, May 7, 2012

Spring 2012

Tuesdays and Thursdays
2:00-3:15pm

KEY 0126

 

Course Description | Requirements | Readings | Grading | Policies | Schedule

Prof. Daryle Williams
Department of History
2125 Taliaferro Hall
(301) 405-0061
daryle@umd.edu
http://www.history.umd.edu/Faculty/DWilliams

Office Hours:

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-5:00pm and by appointment


Course Description and Organization

HIST 471 examines the history of Brazil from the transfer of the Portuguese Court in 1807-08 through the waning days of the military dictatorship that began in 1964. Our primary focus will be the historical evolution of the Brazilian state, the contested boundaries of political citizenship, the changing definitions of a Brazilian "national" culture, the conundrums of wealth and poverty in a "developing" economy, and Brazil in the world.

Recurrent themes include political organization and participation, liberalism, (under)development, nationalism, authoritarianism and redemocratization, slavery and emancipation, social organization and stratification, cultural production, race relations, gender politics, and regionalism. Throughout the course, our goal is to make the connections between political economy, political culture, and identity politics to formulate historically-sensitive interpretations of modern Brazilian culture and society.

The course meets twice a week for seventy-five minutes. Each meeting will be divided between lectures, multimedia presentations, and discussion.

Course Prerequisites

HIST250, HIST251, LASC234, or LASC235; or permission of instructor.


Course Requirements

A pass/fail MAP QUIZ will be given in class on Thursday, February 2. Seven or more correct identifications (out of a possible ten) will be considered a pass. If you do not pass on the first attempt, you will retake the quiz until you do pass. Failure to pass the map quiz will mean that your final exam grade will automatically be dropped one letter grade. A Study Sheet will be distributed on the first day of class.

The FIRST PAPER is due Thursday, February 16. The paper will ask that you analyze the "Memoir addressed to the General Constituent and Legislative Assembly of the empire of Brazil on slavery,"  authored by JosŽ Bonif‡cio de Andrada e Silva (1763-1838). Complete instructions will be provided in an assignment guide.

The TAKE-HOME MIDTERM will be distributed the week of March 12. The exam, due on noon Monday, April 2, 2012, will draw heavily from the assigned Chazkel reading. Examination Guide.

The SECOND PAPER is due on Thursday, May 10. Additional details will be distributed in class after the spring break. Assignment Guide

Each Thursday by 6:00pm, the professor will post an online assignment to the course ELMS site. By the following the following Tuesday at 9:00am, all students are required to submit a short two-paragraph response/reaction to the posted assignment. A typical ELMS ASSIGNMENT will ask for a short written response to a primary document, an image, an online video, or an online newspaper.

A two-hour FINAL EXAMINATION, to take place Wednesday, May 16, 2012, 10:30am-12:30pm, will be cumulative in scope. Study questions will be distributed prior to the exam. Examination Guide

All students are encouraged to seek out the professor for guidance in writing well-organized and engaging papers. Outlines and/or rough drafts are always welcome. Many may benefit from a session with the Writing Center, located in 1205 Tawes Hall. The Writing Center accepts both appointments and drop-in visits. Tel: 301-405-3785.


Readings

The following books, articles, and chapters have been assigned as required reading:

Costa, Em’lia Viotti da. The Brazilian Empire: Myths and Histories. Revised Edition. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. [978-0807848401]

Dassin, Joan. "A Report on Human Rights in Brazil: A Report as of March, 1979." Universal Human Rights 1, no. 3 (July-Set ember 1979): 35-49.

Deutsch, Sandra McGee. "Christians, Homemakers, and Transgressors: Extreme Right-Wing Women in Twentieth-Century Brazil." Journal of Women's History, 16, no. 3 (Fall 2004): 124-137.

Drescher, Seymour. "Brazilian Abolition in Comparative Perspective." Hispanic American Historical Review 68, no. 3 (August 1988): 429-460.

Graham, Sandra Lauderdale. Caetana Says No: Women's Stories from a Brazilian Slave Society. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. [ISBN: 978-0521893534]

Langland, Victoria. "Birth Control Pills and Molotov Cocktails: Reading Sex and Revolution in 1968 Brazil." In In from the Cold: Latin America's New Encounter with the Cold War. Gilbert M. Joseph and Daniela Spenser, eds. Durham: Duke University Press, 2008, pp. 308-349.

Levine, Robert. Father of the Poor? Vargas and His Era. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. [ISBN: 978-0521585286]

Marquese, Rafael de Bivar M‡rcia and Regina Berbel. ÒThe Absence of Race: Slavery, Citizenship, and Pro-Slavery Ideology in the Cortes of Lisbon and the Rio de Janeiro Constituent Assembly (1821-1824)." Social History 32, no. 4 (November 2007): 415-33.

McCann, Bryan. "Black Pau: Uncovering the History of Brazilian Soul," in Rockin' Las Americas: The Global Politics of Rock in Latin/o America. Deborah Pacini Hernandez, et al., eds. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004, pp. 68-90.

McCann, Bryan. "Carlos Lacerda: The Rise and Fall of a Middle-Class Populist in 1950s Brazil." Hispanic American Historical Review 83, no. 4 (November 2003): 661-696.

Needell, Jeffrey, "The Revolta Contra Vacina of 1904: The Revolt Against 'Modernization' in Belle-ƒpoque Rio de Janeiro." Hispanic American Historical Review, 67:2 (May 1987): 233-269.

Reis, João José. "'The Revolution of the Ganhadores': Urban Labour, Ethnicity, and the African Strike of 1857 in Bahia, Brazil," Journal of Latin American Studies 29, no. 2 (May 1997)

Sattamini, Lina. A Mother's Cry: A Memoir of Politics, Prison, and Torture under the Brazilian Military Dictatorship. Durham: Duke University Press, 2010. [ISBN: 978-0822347361]

Schultz, Kirsten. "The Crisis of Empire and the Problem of Slavery." Common Knowledge 11, no. 2 (Spring 2005): 264-282.

Weffort, Francisco. "Why Democracy?" in Democratizing Brazil: Problems of Transition and Consolidation. Alfred Stepan, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 327-350.

Williams, Daryle and Barbara Weinstein, "Vargas Morto: The Death and Life of a Brazilian Statesman." In Death, Dismemberment, and Memory: Body Politics In Latin America. Lyman L. Johnson, ed. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2005, pp. 273-316.

The following textbook is optional:

Skidmore, Thomas E. Brazil: Five Centuries of Change. Second ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. [ISBN: 978-0195374551]

ACCESSING ASSIGNED READINGS

All assigned books are available for purchase, download, and/or rental through the University Book Center, the Maryland Book Exchange, and many online book vendors. All assigned books are also available on 2-hour reserve at McKeldin Course Reserves.

Articles and book chapters are available full-text via the Course Reserves section of the HIST 471 ELMS site. Full-text articles are also accessible via ResearchPort.


Grading

With the exception of the pass/fail map quiz, all assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale, with the scale 100 through 60 corresponding to the standard letter grades of A+ through D-. A failing grade is 59 and lower.

The final grade will be determined by the following formula:

Papers (15% each)

30%

Take-Home Midterm

15%

ELMS Assignments

10%

Final Examination

25%

Classroom Participation

20%

Always keep in mind that active and thoughtful participation in lecture and especially in discussion section will not only enhance the overall quality of learning, it will work in favor of students whose final grade falls near a borderline. Conversely, passive or nonexistent participation will diminish the quality of discussion sections and result in a lowered grade for students who choose not to engage.

Attendance in discussion section is expected, but attendance alone does not guarantee a high grade.

Late papers will not be accepted without prior approval. With the exception of legitimate excuses, late papers may be subject to a grade penalty of up to one full grade for each day late.

Students with a legitimate reason for the delay or rescheduling of an examination should speak with the professor.


Class Policies

Electronic Devices in the Classroom

A wide variety of electronic devices (e.g., laptop computers, PDAs, smart phones, among others) play an important role in higher-education classroom instruction. Note-taking, the retrieval of assigned texts and media, consultation with the syllabus, online discussion and debate, and other learning activities conducted via electronic devices are acceptable parts of in-class learning and engagement. However, the potentials for distraction and abuse are self-evident.

In HIST 471, the standard of unacceptable use of electronic devices in the classroom is to understood as follows:

Unless specifically authorized, all online social networking, texting, instant messaging, tweeting, and voice communication with anyone outside of the classroom during regularly-scheduled lectures, discussions, and examinations are unacceptable. If you have an electronic communication device, these capabilities should be disabled during class hours.

Excused Absences, Religious Observances, and Accommodations for Inclement Weather

University policy excuses the absences of students for illness (self or dependent), religious observances, participation in University activities at the request of university authorities, and compelling circumstances beyond the students' control. In requesting an excused absence, students may be required to provide appropriate documentation.

All course expectations and requirements will comply with the University System of Maryland Policy on Religious Observances.

Inclement weather and official University closures may require modification of course expectations and requirements. Details of any change will be posted to the ELMS website as appropriate. 

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

Students with a documented disability should speak with the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss arrangements for the appropriate academic accommodations.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is a foundation for learning, as outlined in the Code for Academic Integrity. The Code prohibits students from cheating on exams, the intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise, the facilitation of academic dishonesty, and plagiarism. The suspicion of academic dishonesty may result in referral to the Student Honor Council. Questions and doubts about any the expectations for any course assignment or examination should be directed to the professor.

The Honor Pledge

Under the provisions of resolutions adopted by the University Senate, all students will be asked to write by hand and sign the Honor Pledge on all written assignments and examinations, unless otherwise instructed.

And FinallyÉ

This syllabus may be subject to change. The online syllabus, available via the course ELMS site, will always be the most up-to-date. Students will be notified in advance of important changes that could affect grading, assignments, and other course components.



COURSE SCHEDULE

Week I

Introduction

Jan. 26

Course Overview

 

 

Week II

From Colony to Empire

Jan. 31

Crises of Late Colonial Portuguese America

Feb. 2

The Transfer of the Portuguese Court

Map Quiz

Readings

Schultz, "The Crisis of Empire and the Problem of Slavery"
Viotti da Costa, The Brazilian Empire, xi-52

Week III

The Empire

Feb. 7

Independence

Feb. 9

The Problems of Liberalism

Readings

Marquese and Berbel, “The Absence of Race"
Viotti da Costa, The Brazilian Empire, 53-93 and 172-201
José Bonifácio, "Memoir on slavery"

Week IV

Brazilian Slave Society I

Feb. 14

Bonifácio's "Memoir on slavery"

Feb. 16

Slavery, Empire, History

First Paper Due

Reading

Viotti da Costa, The Brazilian Empire, 94-171
Reis, "'The Revolution of the Ganhadores'"

Week V

Brazilian Slave Society II

Feb. 21

Plantation Society

Feb. 23

The Problems of Freedom

Readings

Graham, Caetana Says No

Week VI

1888-1889 Interpretations

Feb. 28

The Destruction of Slavery

March 1

The Fall of the Monarchy

Readings

Viotti da Costa, The Brazilian Empire, 202-268
Drescher, "Brazilian Abolition in Comparative Perspective"

Week VII

The First Republic I

March 6

CafŽ-com-Leite and Other Politics

March 8

Canudos

Readings

Levine, "Mud Hut Jerusalem"
Chazkel, Laws of Chance

Week VIII

The First Republic II

March 13

Rio's Belle Epoque

March 15

Guest Lecture: Dr. Amy Chazkel, CUNY-Queens

Readings Chazkel, Laws of Chance

Week IX

Spring Break

March 19-23

Week IX

 

March 27

Arts, Politics, and Society, 1922-1945

March 29

Skype with Dr. Chazkel

Readings

Levine, Father of the Poor, 1-96

Week X

The Vargas Era

April 3

The First Vargas Regime

April 5

The Second Vargas Regime

Readings

Levine, Father of the Poor

Week XI

After Vargas

Apr. 10

The Vargas Legacies

Apr. 12

Workshop: Africans on the Move in 19th-century Brazilian Slave Society
João José Reis, Universidade Federal da Bahia
Keila Grinberg, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Readings

Williams and Weinstein, "Vargas Morto"
McCann, "Carlos Lacerda"

Week XII

JK

Apr. 17

Film Screening: Candango na Belacap

Apr. 19

Film Screening: Candango na Belacap and Samba em Brasília (exceprt)

Readings

Deutsch, "Christians, Homemakers, and Transgressors"
Langland, "Birth Control Pills and Molotov Cocktails"
McCann, "Black Pau"

Week XIII

The Military Regime I

April 24

1964-1968

April 26

Contra/cultura

Readings

Sattamini, A Mother's Cry

Week XIV

The Military Regime II

May 1

After AI-5: Milagre Econômico and Anos de Chumbo

May 3

Video Screening: Vlado Thirty Years Later

Readings

Dassin, "A Report on Human Rights in Brazil"
Sattamini, A Mother's Cry

Week XV

Towards (Re)Democracy

May 8 Abertura

May 10

Review

Second Paper Due

Readings

Weffort, "Why Democracy?"

May 16
10:30-12:30

FINAL EXAMINATION