The Afro-Latin American Frontier: Race, Gender, and Landscape in Brazil and Beyond
LACS 455, LACS 655, PORTUG 474, ROMLANG 400, INTLSD 401
Brazil shares its borders with ten countries and four official languages, making it one of the world’s longest geopolitical borders. Frontier spaces establish and limit national power and influence, constructing national identity in dialogue with questions of race, gender, sexuality, and class. What is the relationship between Brazil, its Spanish-speaking neighbors, and these frontiers, borders, and boundaries? How are gender and race constructed in spaces where the state’s presence is precarious or even absent? This course is primarily oriented toward the experiences, voices, and cultural production of Black subjects and communities in liminal geographies in South America; nonetheless, we will engage with Black frontiers throughout the Americas, often in conversation with other racialized and gendered communities in these spaces. We will use multi-media cultural products and theory to explore, among others, the hinterlands of the Brazilian Northeast and rural banditry known as the cangaço, the Pampas of the South and its mythical gaucho, the experiences of racialized Portuguese-speakers in North American migration routes, and even the “final frontier” in the vision of Afrofuturism throughout the diaspora. Themes include Panamericanism, Panafricanism, and decolonialism; masculinity, domination, and border violence; fugitivity, refusal, quilombismo, and marronage; sex work, homosocialization, and homoerotics; and landscape, labor, and property. Finally, we will examine how subjects in these spaces push back against the constructions that may dehumanize them, and how they produce their own representations. This course is designed to bridge gaps between Lusophone and Spanish America, and Latin American and Black Studies.
Student Responses:
“The quality of instruction in this course was incredible. Ryan was not only thoughtful and inclusive, but also very intelligent in the subject matter and introduced students to many new concepts and parallels between the US and Brazil that students may not have seen. There were a variety of interests in the class—some people were here for a race and ethnicity class, others for a Latin American studies class, still others for a Portuguese class. I was actually here for a personal interest class that had no relevance to my major. However, Ryan completely included me and also introduced me to many concepts in these various fields that I didn't know before.”
“Ryan is one of the best educators I've ever had. This comes from 18 years of schooling (K–12), my undergrad, and now as I complete my Master's. As someone who is highly critical and cares deeply for justice and equity, Ryan is able to approach complex and tricky topics concerning race, gender, sexuality, and other marginalized identities with a composure, embodied knowing, and (most importantly) an obvious aura of care that I rarely witness in higher ed. That is to say, that the quality of instruction in this course was extremely high. Ryan is a wonderful educator and mentor and will, without question, imbue any course he teaches with a high quality of instruction and care.”
“I would recommend this class to anyone seeking to better understand or further deepen their understanding of the class, border, race, or gender struggles of South America and the Caribbean. Of course, the class is more focused on Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, but the discussions usually led to the main region and its complex situations. I know that since this is a combined class, it is sometimes difficult to maintain the attention and participation of undergraduate and graduate students in a balanced way, nevertheless Prof. Morrison did well to find out good strategies to include everyone and help undergraduate students to understand the more theoretical and contextual things together with the support of graduate students.”
Contemporary Debates and Advanced Concepts in Portuguese Language I and II
LACS 355, LACS 655, PORTUG 287, PORTUG 315 (Two-course cycle)
This course offers intermediate-level students of Portuguese the opportunity to enhance their oral proficiency and writing skills to an advanced level. As students engage with grammar in context, they will develop a deeper understanding of sociolinguistic debates surrounding language use and pedagogy, such as gender neutrality and inclusivity, and anti-racist and decolonial vocabulary. The course will target areas of advanced grammar that often present challenges for learners of Portuguese. Key topics will include the placement and usage of object pronouns, the future subjunctive, a review of demonstrative adjectives and adverbs of place, compound tenses, advanced conjunctions, and reported speech. Our objectives for speaking and oral comprehension will empower students to confidently engage in paragraph-length discourse. The grammatical structures and sociocultural content will provide infrastructure for students to begin experimenting with communication at the abstract and hypothetical level. While the class focuses on Brazilian Portuguese, we will approach the language transnationally, addressing variations in grammar and vocabulary in a cross-cultural context. Students interested in Lusophone Africa and Portugal are encouraged to register, in addition to Portuguese heritage speakers.
Student Responses:
“I don't think I've ever taken a language course as thoughtful as this. Most notably, Ryan's command of English, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese gave me the opportunity to explore language in a way I never have before. Making connections across languages in an advanced way. Rather than Ryan merely interpreting Brazilian Portuguese into English or Spanish so we could understand the nuanced differences of the language, he translated it with a strong knowledge of the way the language has moved.”
“The instruction of the course was exceptional. Ryan is an exceptional instructor who is incredibly sincere about the way he teaches languages. I felt challenged but welcomed to make mistakes and try new things. He was always prepared and ensured that each person was able to speak and offer their perspective across a wide range of topics. The quality was extremely high.”
“Professor Morrison's passion and care made this one of my favorite classes during my time at Michigan. I feel grateful that I've been able to continue my Portuguese and Brazilian area studies learning journey through a course that provided critical learning on the linguistics aspect of the language while also creating space to grow in my own academic and personal interests around Brazil and Portuguese.”
“I loved this course and found it very beneficial in advancing my vocabulary, grammar, and culture of the Portuguese language. Overall the course made my interest in Portuguese grow as I sought out more Portuguese media in my free time. Moreover, every unit was obviously very thoughtfully picked and were extremely fascinating. Providing captivating and useful sources to the different subjects, participating in class was fun and interesting. By also being given chances to bring out personal interests into the class, it became even more fun and exciting. The debate format was also very clear and made debates not seem daunting but truly as a way to improve my grasp of the language.”
Blackness in Brazil: Culture, History and Politics
LACS 455, LACS 655, PORTUG 474, POLSCI 489
This course offers a multi-media exploration into the cultures, history and politics of Brazilians of African descent. What are key currents in Afro-Brazilian thought, cultural practices, and sociopolitical activism? How do Black Brazilians navigate and challenge prevailing constructions of race, gender, sexuality and class arising from Brazil’s national narratives and myths, especially in spaces where Black bodies are invisibilized or hypervisible? How do Black Brazilians engage with the historical legacy of slavery to transform their present and envision new futures? How have these cultural producers engaged with Blackness throughout the Americas? These inquiries will be structured around thematic areas such as diaspora, citizenship and social inclusion; territory, crossing and mobility; spirituality, ancestrality and memory; cultural activism and sociopolitical organization. Materials will include film and iconography, popular music, performance, social media, and literary texts. The class is open to students interested in race throughout the Americas, from any discipline. This course will be taught in English.
Student Responses:
“Throughout this course Ryan has led us through complicated and difficult concepts with certainty. He was always able to help us dissect the readings and offer current day commentary. This course continuously underscored the importance of the topic, even when it didn't always seem obvious at first. Ryan also created an inclusive environment, allowing for differing ideas to be turned into conversations.”
“Ryan's feedback and support for me has made me a better scholar and has also supported me in ways I was unaware I needed. Lastly, the true class and quality of this course was demonstrated via Ryan's unflinching approach to a subject matter that was not always easy to teach re: issues of race, enslavement, and oppression—cultural and epistemic humility was always present in the classroom.
“I really enjoyed this class and the professor made it a point for the students to extract knowledge from other subjects for and from the class, also was very flexible and accommodating to the graduate students that are a part of the course. I would definitely recommend this class to my peers and would love to take another class with this professor.
