This module (and its co-requisite Women and Social Movements in Brazil (Masters):B) will allow students to study a historical theme or area in great depth, under the guidance of an individual member of staff drawing on both secondary sources (i.e. books and articles) and primary sources (documents, newspapers etc), both published and unpublished. The module will allow students to study an aspect of history in detail and gain a fuller understanding of how different types of source material inform the historical process.
Module summary: Brazil is a country known for its extremes: the gap between rich and poor, the divide between white and black, the distance between beach and backlands, rain forest and industrial heartland. It isn’t surprising, then, that the role of women in Brazilian society is also marked by extremes and contradiction. Brazilian women were integral to maintaining colonial and slave society, but were also rebellious slaves and vocal abolitionists. Women were held back from important political and leisure activities, but fought for and gained voting rights by 1932. Women were fervent activists and guerrilla fighters against Brazil’s dictatorships, but also rallied in favour of state oppression, in the name of Christian values and the family. Reproductive rights in Brazil continue to be limited, despite pressure by social movements; yet, famously, Brazilian women are international sex symbols, known for an obsession for beauty and plastic surgery. This dynamic is not unique to Brazil, but due to its societal extremes, Brazilian history offers a unique case study for the role of women in colonial and modern societies.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
analyse and critically appraise key events and historical processes relevant to the subject under scrutiny;
analyse and critically evaluate a wide range of relevant primary source material;
critically evaluate the historiographical context and trends of the subject under exploration;
Summarise, synthesise and evaluate the subject material in a sophisticated written form.
