As one of the largest countries and economies in the world, Brazil plays a major role in economic and social processes in Latin America and is an increasingly prominent player in regional and global politics. This course addresses historical development and contemporary dynamics of the modern Brazilian society.
In this course we will pay attention to these recent cycles in the social, political, and cultural development of Brazil. However, it is important to understand current affairs against the background of long term historical processes and key ingredients of Brazil’s social and cultural configuration. Therefore, in this course we will take an approach that helps students to make sense of Brazil as a society, a country, and a nation that is in constant transformation while being at the same time potent and vulnerable, dynamic and prone to crisis, wealthy and unequal, diverse and exclusionary. The concepts of democracy, citizenship and culture will help us to frame key dimensions of this transformation.
This Open UvA Course is part of the Faculty of Humanities' public programme. Beside Open UvA Courses, the public programme also comprises special lectures and series of courses. The public programme is intended for alumni, employees looking for extra training, and all others who are interested in art, culture, philosophy, language and literature, history and religion.