PORTUGUESE AND BRAZILIAN LITERATURE

The course is part of the core educational activities of Iberian Studies curriculum of the Master’s Degree Programme in European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures. It aims to problematise and analyse the multiple manifestations of ‘Africanity’, or African identity, in contemporary literatures in Portuguese through the reading and analysis of works of fiction (mainly novels) from different national contexts (Mozambique, Angola, Brazil, Portugal).

1. Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of the history of African literatures in Portuguese; knowledge and understanding of the implications of the critical categories of ‘post-colonial literature’, ‘Afro-Brazilian literature’, ‘diaspora literature’.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: applying the acquired knowledge to the contextualisation of the literary works in the historical-cultural, literary and political framework in which they were produced.
3. Autonomy of judgement: ability to acquire and apply adequate critical tools in the analysis of the narrative texts, on a thematic and stylistic-formal level, also by relating them to the context; ability to formulate a personal evaluation and comment on the literary and cultural specificities that emerged during the course.
4. Communicative skills: knowing how to present in a clear and coherent way, with critical and terminological property, the topics dealt with during the course; during classes, taking part in the discussion in a coherent and critical way with respect to the topics dealt with.
5. Ability to learn: learning how to re-elaborate autonomously the concepts learnt during the course in order to formulate hypotheses of analysis and interpretation of the proposed texts; acquiring research skills, autonomously selecting relevant bibliographical sources and elaborating a personal interpretation of the topics dealt with.

Knowledge of the Portuguese language, basic knowledge of the history of the Portuguese colonial empire and its decolonization, ability to analyse and critically comment on literary texts.

The course aims to reflect on the concept of ‘Africanity’, or African identity, and its implications for the critical contextualisation of texts belonging to the various contemporary literatures in Portuguese. Some works by representative authors in this respect will be analysed, in the light of the most recent theoretical and critical contributions in the field of African literature and literature from the African diaspora, not exclusively from the Lusophone sphere.

1. Novels and other literary works:
- COUTO, Mia (1992). Terra sonâmbula. Lisboa: Caminho.
- COUTO, Mia (2015-2017). As areias do imperador (trilogia). Lisboa: Caminho.
- KHOSA, Ungulani Ba Ka (1987). Ualalapi. Lisboa: Caminho.
- KHOSA, Ungulani Ba Ka (2015) [2009]. Choriro. Lisboa: Sextante Editora.
- PEPETELA (1980). Mayombe. Lisboa: Edições 70.
- PEPETELA (1997). A gloriosa família. Lisboa: Dom Quixote.
- CARVALHO, Ruy Duarte de (1999). Vou lá visitar pastores. Lisboa: Cotovia.
- CARVALHO, Ruy Duarte de (2003). Como se o mundo não tivesse leste. Lisboa: Cotovia.
- ONDJAKI (2004). Quantas madrugadas tem a noite. Lisboa: Caminho.
- EVARISTO, Conceição (2003). Ponciá Vicêncio. Belo Horizonte: Mazza.
- ALMEIDA, Djaimilia Pereira de (2018). Luanda, Lisboa, Paraíso. Lisboa: Companhia das letras.
- MONTEIRO, Yara (2018). Essa dama bate bué. Lisboa: Guerra & Paz.

2. Works on the theoretical and critical framework:
AGAMBEN, Giorgio (2008). Che cos’è il contemporaneo?. Roma: Nottetempo.
COSME, J. A. D. (2006). «Moçambicanidade vs. africanidade: a construção de nacionalidades literárias nos mundos anglófono e lusófono», in Veredas, 7, pp. 177-192.
DALCASTAGNÈ, Regina (2011). «Entre silêncios e estereótipos: relações raciais na literatura brasileira contemporânea», in Estudos de literatura brasileira contemporânea, 31, pp. 87-110.
DUARTE, Eduardo (2011). «Literatura afro-brasileira: um conceito em construção», in Estudos de literatura brasileira contemporânea, 31, pp. 11-23.
EL-TAYEB, Fatima (2011). European others: queering ethnicity in postnational Europe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
KANDJIMBO, Luís (1997). «Angolanidade: o conceito e o pressuposto», in Apologia de Kalitangi: ensaio e crítica. Luanda: Instituto Nacional do Livro e do Disco.
LEITE, Ana Mafalda (2003). Literaturas africanas e formulações pós-coloniais. Lisboa: Edições Colibri.
MATA, Inocência (2013). A literatura africana e a crítica pós-colonial: reconversões. Manaus: UEA Edições.
MBEMBE, Achille (2015). «Afropolitanismo», in Áskesis, vol. 4, n. 2, pp. 68-71.
MBEMBE, Achille (2016). Critica della ragione negra. Como; Pavia: Ibis.
Revista de Estudos Literários (2015), núm. monogr. sobre «Literaturas africanas de língua portuguesa».
SELASI, Taiye (2005). «Bye-Bye Babar», in The LIP Magazine, URL: http://thelip.robertsharp.co.uk/?p=76 .
WRIGHT, Edgar (1973). The critical evaluation of African literature. London; Nairobi; Lusaka: Heinemann.

Oral test aimed at verifying the degree of achievement of the expected learning outcomes. In order to pass the exam, a short written paper (5-10 pp.) that discusses a subject related to the course is also required.

Lectures, seminars with preparation of compulsory and supplementary readings, commented reading of texts and documents, remote interaction with students through the University’s Moodle e-learning platform.

Students who do not attend classes are invited to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course.
Other texts will be made available online during the course.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development