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PORT20240

Academic Year 2026/2027

Brazil: Society and Culture (PORT20240)

Subject:
Portuguese
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Languages, Cultures & Linguis
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Ana Vera
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the historical trajectories, social dynamics, and cultural productions that have shaped modern Brazil. It explores how colonial legacies, racial ideologies, political change, and cultural creativity have shaped Brazilian society from the sixteenth century to the present day.
Students will first gain a historical overview of Brazil’s formation, from Portuguese colonisation, slavery, and empire, through dictatorship and the process of re-democratisation. The course then addresses key societal issues, including race and racism, socio-economic inequality, Indigenous rights and environmental activism, and the intersections of gender and race. The final section explores Brazil’s diverse cultural expressions, from modernist art to politically engaged cinema and popular music, highlighting the interplay between culture, politics, and identity.
By engaging with a range of historical sources, scholarly debates, literary texts, visual artefacts, and audiovisual media (all in English translation or with subtitles), students will develop critical perspectives on Brazil’s diversity, contradictions, and cultural significance beyond clichés and stereotypical portrayals.

Note: This module is designed for non-specialists, so prior knowledge of the Portuguese language or familiarity with Brazil is not required, making the course accessible to students from all disciplines with an interest in history, society, politics, culture, and global studies.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of key historical developments in Brazil
2. Analyse major societal issues in Brazil, using relevant theoretical and contextual frameworks
3. Evaluate the role of cultural movements and artistic expressions in shaping and contesting Brazilian identity
4. Engage critically with a range of primary and secondary sources
5. Reflect on Brazil's place within the global context
6. Formulate well-supported arguments in written and oral form, drawing on interdisciplinary sources.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative module content:

1. Historical Overview:
a) Colonial Brazil and the legacy of Slavery
b) From Empire to Republic
c) Modernisation and Dictatorship

2) Societal Issues:
a) Class, Race and Racism
b) Urbanisation, Favelas and inequality
c) Indigenous people and environmental struggles

3) Cultural Expressions
a) "Semana de Arte Moderna" (1922) and Modernism
b) Literary voices
c) Cinema Novo and Contemporary Film
d) Popular music: Samba, Bossa Nova, Tropicalia, Funk

4) Contemporary Brazil: Democracy, Protests and Hope

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Advanced Beginner

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Novice

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Advanced Beginner

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Advanced Beginner

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Novice

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Novice

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Advanced Beginner

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

43
Autonomous Student Learning

43
Lectures

12
Tutorial

12
Total

110

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
The module blends several different teaching and learning approaches such as lectures, class discussions, problem-based learning and debates, readings and presentations. Active participation in classes is required, and students are expected to fully engage with the course material and in-class learning activities.

Note on IA: AI may be used to help with the refinement of expression and style, but AI must be used critically, with an awareness of its limitations. You must add a note documenting and explaining your use of AI, mentioning the AI tool you used and the prompts you put in. The content and argument of the written assessment must be authored by you, and you must not allow the AI tool to alter the sense of any text, offer a critique of or modify any arguments.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Mid-term written essay (max 1000 words): critical analysis of a key historical or societal issue Week 8 Graded No
30
 No
Individual Project: Creative literary, artistic or multimedia output (e.g. podcast, video essay, visual artwork, or creative writing) with a critical reflection of 500 -750 words. Week 15 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Mix of formative tasks throughout the trimester, including: Individual project proposal and pitch (weeks 11,10); contributions to in-class discussions, presentations, tasks and learning activities. Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 Graded No
20
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Students are not required to purchase any materials for this module. All readings and specified learning materials will be made available on Brightspace.

Name Role
Dr Pascale Baker Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 16:00 - 16:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Wed 14:00 - 14:50
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