Brazilian Literature: Twentieth-Century Urban Fiction

FAIN: FS-50307-12

Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)
David W. Foster (Project Director: March 2012 to November 2014)

A four-week seminar for sixteen college and university faculty, in São Paolo to study literature that reflects Brazil's dynamic and increasingly urban culture.

The seminar focuses on five major works of Brazilian urban fiction. 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 provides participants with an important grounding in Brazilian literature. Participants will be college and university professors; some may have familiarity with Brazil. The latter will deepen their knowledge of Brazilian literature, while other participants will receive a solid introduction to Brazilian culture. Portuguese remains a critical language in the U.S., and the seminar proper will contribute to addressing the critical lack of trained scholars in the field. This project falls within the purview of the Bridging Cultures initiative because of the continuity of cultural institutions throughout the Americas, and because of the presence of Brazilian immigrant communities in major U.S. states like Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and California.