Modern Language and Culture – Portuguese Minor

Overview for Modern Language and Culture – Portuguese Minor

This minor provides two full years of modern language and culture instruction to prepare students for living and working within an intercultural society both at home and abroad. The minor consists of five courses, either five language courses or a combination of language courses with up to two culture courses. Students with previous language skills must consult the minor advisor for placement evaluation before they register. Part of the requirements for this minor can be fulfilled by courses taken abroad.

Notes about this minor:

  • This minor is closed to fluent native speakers of Portuguese.
  • Students with prior experience in the language they wish to study are required to take a placement exam before enrollment. This helps ensure that they are placed in the right course for their skill level.
  • Posting of the minor on the student’s academic transcript requires a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the minor.

The plan code for Modern Language and Culture – Portuguese Minor is PORL-MN.

Curriculum for 2023-2024 for Modern Language and Culture – Portuguese Minor

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Course
Electives
Choose five consecutive language courses:
   MLPO-201
   Beginning Portuguese I
Beginning Portuguese I introduces the Portuguese language and culture to beginners, and builds the foundation skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and culture. Part of the SILP/World languages program. Based on Brazilian Portuguese, along with study of all Lusophone countries. Students must take placement exam if this is their first RIT class in Portuguese and they have some prior study of Portuguese. Seminar (Fall).
   MLPO-202
   Beginning Portuguese II
Beginning Portuguese II continues the first-year study of Portuguese language and culture, including work in the present tense, the past tenses, and introducing the subjunctive mood, continuing to build the foundation skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and culture. Based on Brazilian Portuguese, along with study of all Lusophone countries. Part of the SILP/World languages program. Consult program coordinator if this is your first RIT Portuguese course. Students must take the placement exam if this is their first RIT Portuguese class and they have some prior study of Portuguese. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 1 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLPO-201 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring).
   MLPO-301
   Intermediate Portuguese I
Intermediate Portuguese I is the first course in the second year of Portuguese language study. Course content concentrates on intensive grammar review, situation dialogues, conversation, and cultural readings, and includes work in all five skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture). Part of the SILP/World languages program: consult the program coordinator if this is your first RIT Portuguese course. Students must take the placement exam if this is their first RIT Portuguese class, and they have some prior study of Portuguese. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 2 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLPO-202 or MLPO-202T or equivalent course.) Seminar (Fall).
   MLPO-302
   Intermediate Portuguese II
Intermediate Portuguese II is the second course in the second year of Portuguese language study. Course content concentrates on intensive grammar review, situation dialogues, letter writing (business and personal), compositions, oral presentations, and cultural readings. Includes work in all five skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture). Part of the SILP/World languages program: consult the program coordinator if this is your first RIT Portuguese course. Students must take the placement exam if this is their first RIT Portuguese class, and they have some prior study of Portuguese. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 3 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLPO-301 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring).
   MLPO-401
   Advanced Portuguese I
This is the first course of the advanced (third) year of Portuguese language and culture study. The course content is based on the first six films and the first two chapters of the textbook Cinema For Portuguese Conversation (Bonnie Wasserman, Focus Publishing, 2009). Course work covers the cultural themes, readings, grammar study, vocabulary, conversation and composition topics included in the book and the films. Practice in all five skills: speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture. Part of the SILP/World languages program. Consult program coordinator if this is your first RIT Portuguese course. Students must take the placement exam if this is their first RIT Portuguese class, and they have some prior study of Portuguese. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 4 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLPO-302 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Fall).
   MLPO-402
   Advanced Portuguese II
This is the second course of the advanced (third) year of Portuguese language and culture study. The course content is based on the last eight films and the last three chapters of the textbook Cinema for Portuguese Conversation (Bonnie Wasserman, Focus Publishing, 2009). Course work covers the cultural themes, readings, grammar study, vocabulary, conversation and composition topics included in the book and the films. Practice in all five skills: speaking, listening, reading, writing, culture. Part of the SILP/World languages program. Consult program coordinator if this is your first RIT Portuguese course. Students must take the placement exam if this is their first RIT Portuguese class, and they have some prior study of Portuguese. (Prerequisites: Minimum score of 4 on RIT Language Placement Exam or MLPO-401 or equivalent course.) Seminar (Spring).
Students can take up to two culture courses as part of the Portuguese minor. In addition to culture courses listed for the minor, other courses from other departments or schools dealing with aspects of Brazilian, Portuguese, or other Lusophone cultures may also be approved by the faculty adviser.
   ANTH-335
   Culture and Politics in Latin America
What does it mean to be a region forged and defined by conquest? “Latin America” is a construct—a term referring to a vast region of the western hemisphere colonized by speakers of Latin-derived languages (including Spanish, Portuguese, and French). In this context, culture is political and politics are cultural. Throughout what is now called Latin America and the Caribbean, the cultural practices of Indigenous and African peoples became the justification for the imposition of European rule, territorial expansion, enslavement, the extraction of labor and natural resources, Christian evangelization, and the racialized legal frameworks that facilitated it all. This course traces these historical processes and examines present-day legacies of colonialism, including ethnic inequalities, colorism, economic vulnerability, patriarchal relations, and social unrest. We consider, as well, the agency of people of Indigenous and African descent as they pursued survival with tactics ranging from acquiescence and strategic passing to creative blending to outright defiance, resistance, and rebellion. Throughout, we look at how art, music, dance, literature, and religion have engaged critically with the forces of fascism, revolution, socialism, dictatorship, neo-imperialism, and globalization. Lecture 3 (Spring).