Brazilian Literature: Contemporary Urban Fiction.
The seminar will focus on five major works of Brazilian urban fiction, basically from the twentieth century. Through a detailed examination of these works as literary texts that interpret the urban experience in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre, the seminar will provide 16 participants (14 professors and 2 advanced doctoral students) with an important grounding in Brazilian literature.Participants will be college and university professors of Latin American studies, some of whom may have some familiarity with Brazil. The latter will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Brazilian literature, while other participants will receive a solid introduction to Brazilian culture through major literary texts. Portuguese remains a critical language in the U.S., and both the seminar proper and the language workshop that will be an auxiliary part of the program will contribute toward addressing the critical lack of trained scholars in the field.For further information, contact Prof. David William Foster, Arizona State University, david.foster@asu.edu