Admission requirements
This course aims to analyze the challenges facing contemporary Brazil as it seeks to overcome structural obstacles to further development, and to enhance its position in the international division of labour and on the world stage. The course begins by briefly tracing the processes of economic, political and social development that have transformed Brazil since the end of World War II. Themes examined here include economic modernization through industrialisation, the legacy of liberal market reforms in the 1990s, the process of democratisation since 1985, and recent social transformaton in the wake of more concerted efforts to tackle poverty. Recognizing Brazil’s current political and economic crisis, the course then moves on to analyse the structural issues that will need to be overcome if the country is to resume a course of sustainable, inclusive growth. These centre on:
Political representation, polarisation, multi-party politics and the case for consitutional reform
Poverty, income distribution and changes in the labour market
Institutions for development and their reform
The role of the state: fiscal policy and state-owned enterprises
Competitivenss, innovation and the challenge of the global economy
The rise of Brazilian multinationals
Corruption and transparency: from Mensalão to Lava Jato
The environmental challenge
Brazil on the world stage: global ambitions and frustrations
The teaching materials will comprise slides (to be posted on blackboard) plus selected texts (please see below).Teaching materials used: readings and lecture slides.
Course Objectives
Academic skills that are developed include:
Oral presentation skills:
- to explain clear and substantiated research results;
- to provide an answer to questions concerning (a subject) in the field covered by the course
a. in the form of a clear and well-structured oral presentation;
b. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria;
c. using up-to-date presentation techniques;
d. aimed at a specific audience; - to actively participate in a discussion following the presentation.
Collaboration skills:
- to be socio-communicative in collaborative situations;
- to provide and receive constructive criticism, and incorporate justified criticism by revising one’s own position;
- adhere to agreed schedules and priorities.
Basic research skills, including heuristic skills:
- to collect and select academic literature using traditional and digital methods and techniques;
- to analyze and assess this literature with regard to quality and reliability;
- to formulate on this basis a sound research question;
- to design under supervision a research plan/paper of limited scope, and implement it using the methods and techniques that are appropriate within the discipline involved;
- to formulate a substantiated conclusion.
Written presentation skills:
- to explain clear and substantiated research results;
- to provide an answer to questions concerning (a subject) in the field covered by the course
a. in the form of a clear and well-structured written presentation;
b. in agreement with the appropriate disciplinary criteria;
c. using relevant illustration or multimedia techniques;
d. aimed at a specific audience.
Timetable
See Timetable
Mode of instruction
- Lecture and seminars featuring student participation
Course Load
Total course load for the course: 10 EC x 28 hours= 280 hours, broken down by:
Hours spent on attending lectures and seminars: 24 hours
Time for studying the compulsory literature:136 hours
Researching, preparing and delivering a group presentation: 20 hours
Researching and writing final paper: 100 hours
Assessment Method
Assessment
The papers for students taking this course as part of their LAS Research Master are expected to formulate a research question that is strongly theoretically embedded and related in their case study to a key debate on Latin American Modernities (discussed in the ResMA core courses). To this end, ResMA students can request one extra individual meeting focused on helping them develop their theoretical framework accordingly.
Written examination with essay questions
Paper
Oral presentation.
Weighing
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following:
the final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average
Written exam at end of course 50%;
Paper 30%;
Group Presentation 20%
Resit
In the case of resitting the final exam, students will be presented with an exam paper identical in format to the original exam. They will need to answer all questions.
In the case of essays, resubmission in the case of a failed assignment is possible. The maximum possible grade to be obtained for re-submission is a 6.0.
Exam review
Exam reviews will be conducted on request by students. Results of first sit exams will be available no later than 3 days before the scheduled resit exam.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
Distribution of Lecture Slides
Setting of assignments
Reading list
Key bibliography:
E. Amann & A. Barrientos (eds.) (forthcoming 2017) Special Issue of Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance on Brazilian Development Model
E. Amann & A. Barrientos (2015) ‘Is there a Brazilian development model?’, UNDP Policy in Focus, No.33
W. Baer (2013) The Brazilian Economy, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Press (Chs. 1-3)
B. Fausto (1999) A Concise History of Brazil, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Chs 5-6)
A. Fishlow (2011) Starting Over: Brazil Since 1985, Washington DC: Brookings Institution (Chs. 1-2)
R. Ioris (2014) Transforming Brazil: A History of National Development in the Postwar Era, Basingstoke: Routledge (Chs. 1-2)
M. Reid (2015) Brazil: The Troubled Rise of a Global Power, New Haven: Yale University Press (Part II)
R. Roett (2011) The New Brazil, Washington: Brookings Institution (Chs. 5-7)
Note: These are introductory readings and further readings in connection with sub-topics will be recommended once the course begins. It is recommended, though not essential, that students review the chapters cited above prior to the commencement of the course.
Registration
Via uSis
General information about uSis is available in English and Dutch.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable