Skip to main content

PORT 408

How to Dress Like a Portuguese Girlie and Other Fashion Trends in Portugal and Brazil

W 12:20PM – 1:10PM, Dr. Chloe Hill

This is a stand-alone, one-credit hour LAC discussion course taught in Portuguese.  No co-registration required.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: How does fashion represent a national identity? In what ways is self-expression emphasized, rehearsed, and affirmed by what we wear? How can clothing and what we choose to put on our bodies represent not only an aesthetic choice but political, economic, environmental, and ethical choices as well? In this course we will study fashion from Brazil and Portugal to explore these questions and more. Spanning traditional dress to contemporary styles, this course will raise such issues as fast fashion, cultural appropriation versus appreciation, body positivity and inclusion, and identity and personal style. We will read magazine articles, watch films and short videos, and explore social media content in Portuguese to examine how fashion influences understandings of people and place. From the iconic style of Brazil’s Carmen Miranda to the recent TikTok trend “how to dress like a Portuguese girlie”, this course will host weekly conversations in Portuguese, offering students the opportunity to analyze and discuss the aesthetics and politics of fashion in the Portuguese-speaking world.

This stand-alone, one-hour LAC discussion session in Portuguese examines the contemporary histories and cultures of Brazil and Portugal, focusing on social issues that are common to both countries, such as social and gender inequality, racial discrimination, and unemployment.

Prerequisite: PORT 204, 402 or permission of instructor

Instructor: Paulo Ferreira (paulorf@email.unc.edu)

W 10:10-11:00

Prerequistes: PORT 204, or 402, or permission of the instructor.

This stand-alone one-hour LAC discussion session in Portuguese examines the history, literary works and historical documents from the era of the discoveries through the 2ist century. Students will be able to approach an understanding of the myriad of ideas and approaches to concepts of difference, otherness, and race—both official and otherwise—found throughout the Portuguese empire.

No co-registration.

This stand-alone one-hour LAC discussion session examines the history, literary works and historical documents from the era of the discoveries through the 20th century. One of our principal goals will be to approach an understanding of the myriad of ideas and approaches to concepts of difference, otherness, and race—both official and otherwise—found throughout the Portuguese empire, as well as the evolution of the same. This will be the content and context of the linguistic goals of the class. Those goals include achieving 1) greater fluency in reading Portuguese literature and academic writing in Portuguese; 2) a higher level of Portuguese competency in, primarily, presentational and interpersonal modes; and 3) more effective compositional skills in Portuguese—organizing thoughts and creating and defending an argument.

Requisites: Prerequisite, PORT 204 or 402; permission of the instructor for students lacking the prerequisite