Undergraduate Portuguese Course Descriptions

Current Schedule of Courses

Fall 2008

PORTUGUESE

PORTUGUESE 101: Elementary Portuguese I
PORTUGUESE 190: Visions of the Brazilian Rain Forest (cross-list with LAS 190)
PORTUGUESE 201: Intermediate Portuguese I
PORTUGUESE 412S: The Romance Languages (cross-listed with LING 385S 6 spaces; ITAL 376R 3 spaces, PORT 412S 3 spaces)

PORTUGUESE 101: Elementary Portuguese I

Instructor TBA MWF 10:40-11:30 & W 9:35-10:25 Max: 18

CONTENT: This is a beginning-level integrated skills language course. This courses helps students develop a basic ability to communicate in Portuguese. Class time is dedicated to interactive activities that allow students to acquire skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Through music, videos, and readings of authentic materials, students are also introduced to many aspects of Brazilian culture as well as of other countries where Portuguese is spoken. Class meets four times per week and is conducted in Portuguese in order to maximize exposure to the language. Lab activities are also incorporated in order to develop students' listening skills and pronunciation.

PARTICULARS: Evaluations are based on participation, homework and Language Laboratory work, exams, formal compositions, informal writing assignments, and oral presentations.

TEXT: Brasil! Língua e Cultura (Textbook & Writing and Language Laboratory Manual)

PORTUGUESE 190: Visions of the Brazilian Rain Forest (cross-list with LAS 190)
Ana Santos Olmsted MWF 12:50-1:40 Max: 18

CONTENT: This course will examine how various peoples and institutions have reacted to and portrayed the Amazon region. Although interdisciplinary in nature, this is not a science course and will not focus on the natural ecology, biodiversity, and climate conditions of the Amazon ecosystem. Rather, it will concentrate on the contrasting visions of the Rain Forest as a tropical paradise and an area of intense controversy for both its inhabitants and outsiders. We will study a variety of folk tales, fictional writings, non-fiction narratives and articles published in the press, as well as scholarly texts from fields as diverse as Anthropology and Literature. Documentaries and feature movies that provide a concept and a set of cultural values related to the Amazonian region will be viewed and discussed throughout the semester.

TEXTS: Selected readings on Reserves Direct and Blackboard.

PARTICULARS: Evaluations are based on attendance and class participation, homework and reaction papers, oral presentations, one research paper and one project reflecting class readings and discussions.

PORTUGUESE 201: Intermediate Portuguese I
Instructor TBA MWF 2:00-2:50 Max: 15

CONTENT: This course develops students' communicative abilities in Portuguese as well as their understanding of the cultural context in which the language is used. Students learn to communicate through activities in speaking, listening, reading and writing. In addition to reviewing some important topics they have learned previously, students also learn new vocabulary and grammar points at the same time that they study the cultures and societies of Portuguese-speaking countries in more depth. Classroom activities are highly interactive and focus on speaking and listening. Reading about Lusophone cultures is emphasized, as are informal writing (to develop fluency) and brief compositions (to develop accuracy). Language Lab activities are also used to improve listening skills and pronunciation.

PARTICULARS: Evaluations are based on participation, homework and Language Laboratory work, exams, formal compositions, informal writing assignments, and oral presentations.

PREREQUISITES: Portuguese 101, 110, or equivalent (including courses taken in study abroad programs).

TEXTS: Using Portuguese: A Guide to Contemporary Usage. Ganho & McGovern, and a course reader on Blackboard.

PORTUGUESE 412S: The Romance Languages
Don Tuten MWF 12:50-1:40 Max: 3 (cross-listed with LING 385S 6 spaces; ITAL 376R 3 spaces, SPAN 410S 6 spaces)

CONTENT: This course aims to provide an understanding of the history and development from Latin of the different varieties of Romance (e.g., Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian), focusing on their structure and use. It will also provide students with an introduction to the fields of historical linguistics and language change. We will examine changes in the pronunciation (phonetics/phonology), the grammar (morphology/syntax), the lexicon, and also changes in use (pragmatics). However, beyond this examination of what changes occurred when and where they did, we will also ask: how and why did specific changes occur in specific times and places (but not others)?; and more importantly, why does language change and vary at all? To respond to these questions, we will consider how learning and cognition interact with sociohistorical and cultural factors to shape language change. We will consider too how and why the Romance languages came to be seen as languages different from Latin and from each other, and how modern institutions have come to promote some kinds of change and discourage others.

Readings and discussion will be in English, but significant previous study of at least one Romance language is required.

PARTICULARS: Students enrolling under Spanish, Italian or Portuguese must complete their final research project on some issue relating to the language under which they enrolled.

PREREQUISITES: At least two years of college-level study (or equivalent) of any Romance language (e.g., Catalan, French, Galician, Italian, Occitan, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish). Previous or simultaneous study of Linguistics 201 (Foundations of Linguistics) is strongly recommended but not required. By permission only.