Faculty of Arts & Science 2015-2016 Calendar

Portuguese

• Portuguese Specialist | Portuguese Major | Portuguese Minor
• Portuguese Courses

Faculty

Overview:

Portuguese is spoken by more than two hundred and sixty million people on four continents: Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas . Twenty percent of all residents of the Western Hemisphere are Brazilians, who attest to the truth that one out of every five Americans - North, Central, South - speaks Portuguese as his or her native language.

The literature of Portugal has a tradition that goes back as far as the twelfth century, and the discoveries of its Renaissance seafarers led the language and the culture to all corners of the globe. In the last six decades Portugal has given to Canada many thousands of new citizens, and Brazil is attracting the attention of Canadians through its vast potential as a land of culture, of natural resources, and of industry.

Language sequence:

1. The Department reserves the right to place students in the language course best suited to their linguistic preparation.

2. Students who, in the department's assessment, have an adequate knowledge of Portuguese may be required to take a Portuguese literature or culture course instead of a language course at any level.

The progression of courses in the language sequence is designed to accommodate a wide range of previous language experience. Students are placed in the appropriate language course based on their proficiency as determined by departmental assessment. 

Students who have had little to no previous experience in studying Portuguese may enrol in an intensive course, PRT100Y1. 

Students who have a strong background in the Spanish language, or other Romance language (such as Italian, French or Rumanian), should enrol in PRT120Y1.

Students who have had previous experience in studying Portuguese may enrol in several intermediate and advanced courses, depending on their background and their level of preparation. Speakers with an intermediate level of Portuguese, including those who successfully completed PRT100Y1 or PRT120Y1, should enrol in PRT220Y1. 

Those students who have had exposure to spoken Portuguese in an informal context (i.e., those who have lived or live in a Portuguese-speaking environment), but who have had little to no exposure to written Portuguese, should enrol in PRT219Y1. Students who qualify for this course are able to understand and speak Portuguese. Their level of spoken fluency may range from basic to relatively high, but they usually do not write or read Portuguese.

Students who have completed PRT219Y1 or PRT220Y1, or those who come to the program with an advanced level of Portuguese as assessed by the department, should proceed to take PRT320Y1. 

Following PRT320Y1,  students are qualified to enrol in PRT420H1. This course is appropriate for students with a relatively high vocabulary base and good command of grammar who need to increase their lexicon, and who need further formal instruction in grammar and writing.

Students who are unsure of what is the most appropriate placement for them in the language sequence should contact the department (spanport@chass.utoronto.ca) to  receive personal assessment and recommendation for proper placement. 

Fluent speakers of Portuguese who have received a highshool or a higher level of education in Portuguese language, and who in the department's assessment do not need further training in language, may enrol immediately in any literature or culture course.

Portuguese opens the door to a rich range of cultural expressions in literature, film, and art, from the world-changing contribution of Renaissance Portugal to the contemporary Brazilian and Luso-African diaspora. Whether it is Nobel-prize winning Portuguese literature or the excitement of the Brazilian cinema novo, Lusophone writers, filmmakers, and artists continue to shape and change contemporary global culture. 

The Department encourages students to consider completing part of their course work at a university in Portugal or Brazil.

For further information, please visit us in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese,

Victoria College, Room 208

or contact us at: (416) 813-4080. Email: spanport@chass.utoronto.ca

Undergraduate Coordinator: Professor Sanda Munjic (416) 813-4082.

E-mail: spanport.undergraduate@utoronto.ca

Web site: www.spanport.utoronto.ca

Portuguese Programs

Enrolment in the Portuguese programs requires the completion of 4.0 courses.

Consult Professor Sanda Munjic, Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

(10 full courses or their equivalent, including at least one 400-series course)

First Year:
PRT100Y1/PRT120Y1/PRT219Y1/PRT220Y1

Second Year:
1. PRT220Y1/PRT320Y1
2. PRT258H1

Third and Fourth Years:
1. PRT320Y1
2. PRT420H1
3. Plus additional PRT courses to make ten courses. Up to two full-course equivalents may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings: GGR, HIS, LAS, POL, SPA. A complete list of eligible courses is available from the Undergraduate Coordinator.

Consult Professor Sanda Munjic, Department of Spanish and Portuguese. 

(7 full courses or their equivalent)

First Year:
PRT100Y1/PRT120Y1/PRT219Y1/PRT220Y1

Second Year:
1. PRT220Y1/PRT320Y1
2. PRT258H1

Third and Fourth Years:
1. PRT320Y1
2. PRT420H1 is recommended for students who start in PRT100Y1, and is required for students who start in PRT220Y1 or higher language course.
3. Plus additional PRT courses to make seven courses. Up to one full-course equivalent may be taken from cognate departmental or college offerings: GGR, HIS, LAS, POL, SPA. A complete list of eligible courses is available form the Undergraduate Coordinator.

Consult Professor Sanda Munjic, Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

4 full courses or their equivalent, including at least one course at the 300+ level.

 The Department of Spanish and Portuguese participates in the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Language Citation initiative for Portuguese.

To complete the language citation in Portuguese students will normally complete the two language-sequence courses that follow the introductory level:

PRT219Y1 or PRT220Y1
PRT320Y1

Students should note that, as explained on the page 20 of this Calendar, the Language Citation is not equivalent to an academic program and that enrolment in a program is not necessary in order to earn the recognition bestowed by the Citation.

 Portuguese: see also European Studies; Latin American Studies

Portuguese Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details can be found at www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/fyh-1/.

1. The Department reserves the right to place students in the language course best suited to their linguistic preparation.

2. Students who, in the department's assessment, have an adequate knowledge of Portuguese may be required to take a Portuguese literature or culture course instead of a language course at any level.

An introduction to the main elements of the language with emphasis on oral and written practice. The course is designed for students with no previous knowledge in Portuguese.

Introduction to the Portuguese language for speakers of Spanish (and possibly of other Romance languages, such as Italian, French or Rumanian). Overview of basic grammatical structures, development of vocabulary and oral and written expression.

Communication practice in small groups, with an emphasis on skills in speaking, listening, and reading. Selective review of grammatical structures and active vocabulary, with readings from Portuguese authors.

This course is designed to meet the needs of students who have had exposure to spoken Portuguese in an informal context, but little to no exposure to written Portuguese. The students’ ability to speak and understand Portuguese may range from basic to relatively high fluency, but they cannot write and/or read Portuguese. The course reviews English/ Portuguese spelling differences; written and spoken registers of Portuguese, and basic aspects of the grammatical system. The course aims at (1) providing students with the essential understanding of Portuguese grammatical system; (2) building their vocabulary; and (3) training them to express themselves formally in both spoken and written Portuguese.

Intermediate Portuguese for non-natives. Intensive grammar review of the structures of Portuguese integrated with an introduction to reading authentic Portuguese material, with practice designed to build vocabulary and to improve oral and written expression.

This course examines Portuguese immigration in North America. It highlights selected themes and topics, focused on Portuguese settlements in USA and Canada. Through readings, films and other art forms students will analyze concepts of cultural history, self and identity, community building and related issues.

A survey of historical and cultural trends in Portugal from the Middle Ages to the present. Art and music are studied in addition to historical/cultural movements to gain a perspective of the uniqueness of Portugal both within Iberia and in Europe in general. (Offered in alternate years; taught in English)

Study of Portuguese literature, art, and culture in the context of colonization and immigration, with a specific emphasis on the islands of the Portuguese Atlantic. Readings in the cultural heritage of island settlements, and in diasporic movements to other countries. (Offered in alternate years; taught in English)

Taught in English, this course examines the historical and cultural contexts of Brazilian identity. The impact of colonial history on issues such as race, religion and regionalism is explored. The course focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries: Positivism, Modernism, the Anthropophagous Movement, music and Cinema Novo are discussed. (Offered in alternate years)

The introductory study of literary texts and consideration of the various ways authors express and situate themselves in culture. Semiotics, gender, the literary canon, advertising, the nature of literary language, and cinema.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/rop. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

Intensive practice in written and oral Portuguese for the advanced student. Selective review of grammar with emphasis on the complex sentences.

The experience of displacement, accounts of exile and of the diaspora, has given rise to a renewal of narrative. The course examines the parameters of this new narrative with special focus on the Luso-Brazilian literature and the themes of saudade, desterro, and dystopia.

The evolution of narrative practices from orality to text based literature and the advent of the digital revolution as story telling moves from literacy to so-called post-literacy. The course examines, with examples drawn from Luso-Brazilian literature, how storytelling and reading change in non-linear narratives.

A study of the driving ideologies behind the Age of Discoveries. Close scrutiny of key texts reveals how the ideas of displacement, violence, gender, and colonization play crucial roles in the establishment and maintenance of nationhood and nationality in Renaissance Portugal. (Offered in alternate years)

A course on a specific topic in Brazilian culture, designed for advanced students. Course content and instructor are established on a yearly basis.

Focus on modern and contemporary Brazilian literature and its social contexts, and examination of the relationship between literary movements and Brazilian cinema, music and art. (Offered in alternate years)

In years when this course is offered, topics are described in detail  on the departmental webpage. Students can enrol in this course multiple times, as long as the topic of the course is different. For any questions, please check with the department.

An examination of Portuguese literature as it confronts the changing social, political, and aesthetic currents of the twentieth century. The Orpheu movement of Pessoa and Sa-Carneiro, Presenca and Neo-Realism as well as contemporary authors such as Lydia Jorge and Jose Saramago are studied. (Offered in alternate years)

Studies Portuguese and Brazilian Romanticism tracing the development of a new sense of personal and national identity in those countries as reflected in novels, poems and essays. While readings are in Portuguese, the class is conducted in English. (Offered in alternate years)

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/399. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/399. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.

A study of the more advanced areas of Portuguese grammar and language use. Discussion of issues relating to syntax, vocabulary and style as they arise in essays and readings of literary texts.  Intensive written and oral practice.

The course will help students to develop language on a range of topics from financial, legal, medical to educational. It will also provide students with the awareness of Lusopone cultures and improve cross-cultural competence.

Whether writing about the adulterous and incestuous relationship between cousins, or the downfall of a great family, or later the transformation of a Parisian dandy into a robust Portuguese countryman, Eça had one great subject: Portugal. The course examines the shifting perspective of the country through close readings of novels. (Taught in English in 2011-2012)

Beginning with Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, Machado de Assis developed the art of creating characters who prefigure the 20th and 21st century selves: contradictory, often delusional. His novels destroy whatever certainties the late 19th century offered. The course examines the transformation of Machado through readings of his novels. (Taught in Portuguese in 2011-2012)

A study of the works of Camões, including Os Lusíadas, and a portion of the lyrics and theatre. (Offered in alternate years) (Taught in English)

The development of the Luso-Brazilian short story. Examination of theories of the genre as they relate to short stories of Machado de Assis, Eça de Queiroz, Graciliano Ramos, João Guimaraes Rosa, Clarice Lispector and others. (Offered in alternate years)

Individual study with a member of staff on a topic of common interest including readings, discussion and written assignments. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.