HR220-5-SP-CO:
The Making of Modern Brazil (Twentieth Century)
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
ReassessmentOnly
Monday 15 January 2024
Friday 22 March 2024
15
11 May 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
Although Brazil is the fifth biggest country of the world in terms of population and territory, the country and its history remain widely unknown to most Europeans. Brazil is part of the Western world since the beginning of the sixteenth century, when the Portuguese and other Europeans established their first colonies on the coast, but at the same time retains a strong African and Native American heritage. Extreme social inequality as well as the amazing capacity of integrating different cultures into an original new synthesis characterizes this 'land of contrasts'. Today Brazil is asserting itself as a key player in international politics alongside other emerging powerhouses of the world.
The module will provide a general introduction to the political and social history of Brazil for students unacquainted with its past. A general lecture on economic, social and political developments introduces to each major period of Brazilian history examined in the module Empire (1822-1889), First Republic (1889-1930) and from the 1930 Revolution and the 'New State' Dictatorship to the Populist Democracy (1930-1964).
The main focus of subsequent lectures and classes in each section will then be on the social movements that characterized each period. Who supported them? What were their aims and actions? What organisations tried to pursue them? Starting with Independence from Portugal (1822) we will look at radical liberal movements during the 1820s and 1830s, and the nationwide movement to abolish slavery (1880s), which led to the establishment of a republic (1889). The new regime was challenged not only by millenarian groups and bandits struggling for survival in the semi-arid backlands, but also by urban riots against capitalist modernisation and strikes organised by European anarchists, who immigrated to Brazil at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. The third part of the module will examine fascists and communists in the 1930s, and populist mobilisation of workers and students during the 1950s, which was cut short by the military coup of 1964.
1. To introduce students to the history of modern Brazil, acquiring a minimum of factual knowledge and allowing them a deeper understanding of contemporary Brazilian society.
2. To provide an overview of the recent Brazilian and Brazilianist (mainly US-American) historiography. Lectures and readings should enable students to engage critically with the historiographical debates in classes/seminars and in their essays. This should develop their awareness of the relevance of theoretical issues and types of historical approaches beyond Western Europe.
3. To develop students skills in familiarising themselves rapidly with a new topic not included in traditional curricula. Globalisation and the emergence of a Brazil as a major partner in world economy highlight the need to understand the social and historical background of this and other major Third World countries.
On completion of this module, students:
1. Will understand the basic periodization of modern Brazilian political and social history.
2. Will have learned how Brazil became a modern nation-state, whilst at the same time struggling to overcome its colonial past.
3. Will be able to identify key social movements and their interaction with elite politics as well as their impact on politics, society and culture.
4. Will have learned to familiarise themselves with a new historiography.
A general, very readable introduction to Brazil is Eakin, Brazil, the Once and Future Country (1997).
More specifically on social history, see Conniff & McCann, Modern Brazil (1989). I also recommend the reading of at least one of the following introductions to the political history of modern Brazil: Fausto, Concise History of Brazil (1999), Levine, The History of Brazil (1999), and Skidmore, Brazil, Five Centuries of Change (1999).
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History has published many entries that provide excellent introductions to many themes of this module (available online, see links in Talis).
The relevant chapters in the Cambridge History of Latin America (= CHLA, 1985 ff., also published separately in two volumes on Brazil and edited by Leslie Bethell), Flynn, Brazil: a Political Analysis (1978) and the two books by Skidmore (1967 & 1988, covering the period 1930-64 and 1965-85) constitute other core overview books for this module.
One-hour lecture and one-hour seminar per week.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Additional coursework information
This module is assessed by coursework only. The coursework consists of one document analysis of a key primary source (in form of a powerpoint, the equivalent of 1,000 words) and one essay (2,000 words). The document analysis is weighted 30%, the essay 65%, and class participation 5%. The mark for class participation is based on your participation in class discussions.
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Matthias Rohrig Assuncao, email: assuncao@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Matthias Röhrig Assunção
Belinda Waterman, Department of History; email: belinda@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Ingeborg Dornan
Brunel University London
Reader in History
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
Disclaimer: The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its Module Directory is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can
be necessary to make changes, for example to programmes, modules, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include a change of law or regulatory requirements,
industrial action, lack of demand, departure of key personnel, change in government policy, or withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to modules may for example consist
of variations to the content and method of delivery or assessment of modules and other services, to discontinue modules and other services and to merge or combine modules.
The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications and module directory.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.