Brazil: Favela Sertão

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course introduces students to the sertão (backlands) and the favelas (slums), two themes essential for understanding Brazilian society from the late 19th century to the present. Students will examine cultural artifacts from a historical perspective, analyzing their social, political, and aesthetic dimensions in the context of their production. The course will cover various topics, including representations of immigration and urbanization in Rio de Janeiro around the 1880s, as well as contemporary portrayals of life, violence, and culture in favelas across major Brazilian cities. It will address historical events such as the War of Canudos in the 1890s and explore themes like drought, urban migration, class, race, gender, and religion in the Northeast and rural Brazil through the 20th century. Students will pay close attention to how artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians depict the dynamic relationship between the favela and the sertão. In addition to insights from the humanities, students will also examine how social scientists view the favela-sertão as a microcosm of Brazil.