Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
• Identify distinctive characteristics and themes of the Portuguese-speaking film and literary productions;
• Comprehend the works as cultural references intrinsically connected to the social, political, and historical contexts of modern Portuguese-speaking countries;
• Apply pertinent historical and socio-political information to their analyses of cultural products and understand how literature and film respond to social change in the Portuguese-speaking world world;
• Identify and analyse significant cross-cultural differences and similarities among different Portuguese-speaking cinematographic productions and their cultures;
• Develop strategies for analysing film and fiction, while gaining an appreciation for the artistic productions.
Indicative Module Content:
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary, it is envisaged that the course will include the following topics:
- The Colonial War and the Collapse of the Empire: The Murmuring Coast, by Margarida Cardoso; The Murmuring Coast (Chapter 1: The Locusts) by Lidia Jorge.
- The Carnation Revolution (April Captains, by Maria de Medeiros)
- Mozambique: Colonial Impressions (We killed Mangy-Dog and Other Mozambique Stories, by Luís Bernardo Honwana)
- From colonial to the postcolonial nation: the power of image (Kuxa Kanema: the birth of cinema, Margarida Cardoso)
- Mozambique: The Civil War (Sleepwalking Land, by Teresa Prata)
- Angola: in search of a Nation (Yes, Comrade! by Manuel Rui)
- Angola: Post-Conflit and Marginality (The Hero, Zézé Gamboa)
- Brazil: In Times of Military Dictatorship (The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, by Cao Hamburger)
- Brazil: "Favelas" & Violence (City of God, by Fernando Meirelles)
- Cinematic representations of Afro-descendants in contemporary Portugal (Colossal Youth by Pedro Costa)