WOMEN, TECHNOLOGY, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IN BRAZIL

Professor Martha Huggins Office hours: Mon. 11-12; Wed. 11-12

and lunch by appointment (Mon. or Wed).

Associacao Alumni, For any other days call ahead:

Rocha Campus, Classroom 204 Cel.: 9105-2229

INTRODUCTION

This course, which examines the contributions and sacrifices of women to Brazil's economic development, will be conducted like an upper-level seminar. This means that you will be responsible for reading the assigned materials and discussing them in class. Do not come to class without having read and thought about the course materials: Your contributions will reflect this lack of preparation and your participation grade will suffer.

Since this course has been awarded WAC 3 extensive writing credit, there will be significant writing and you will be expected to fulfill all of the assignments. Please do not ask me to eliminate any of the required readings or writing assignments: You will learn about Brazilian culture by becoming more educated about it. As you become more educated, you will be more empowered and see more of what this rich culture offers.

Goals. This course is designed to support the students' carrying out and writing up their Sao Paulo field research on aspects of Brazilian society, which will be supervised by the instructor. Each student will do research in a particular setting arranged in consultation and by arrangement with Term Abroad Director Martha Huggins and Associacao Alumni International Programs Director Caio Cardoso.

Attendance and Submissions. For seven weeks the class will meet up to twice a week for up to two hours apiece. Some class time will be freed in October for field work, archival research, and report-writing.

This course considers the intersection of racial, ethnic, class, occupational, gender, age, and national and personal identities and roles in the interactions of traveler and inhabitants within the social structure and cultures of Brazil and some of its regions. It therefore also explores various ordinary Brazilians', foreign and Brazilian writers', other observers', and the students' own constructions of self-identity and social identity. As these vary according to social, geographic, and temporal place, with their local and larger loyalties and conflicts within and among identities, and their (often tentative) resolutions, in the students' experience of Brazil.

Students study Introduction to Portuguese for 10 weeks at Union College in the Spring term before beginning their Fall study abroad program in Brazil. Their professor at Union College, Sally Crimmins-Vilela, created a website with their essays in Portuguese before going to Brazil.