Minicourses and Workshops
 
Fall 2005
 
Brazilian Portuguese
 

Brazilian Portuguese

Introduction to Brazilian Portuguese

Back by popular demand! This course will offer an introduction to the language as it is spoken in Brazil. Dynamic and lively class meetings and individual participation will allow students to learn the vocabulary, idioms, and grammar needed for conversation. Students will also gain exposure to Brazilian culture through the use of written, audio, and visual materials.

Silmara Roman, Brazilian Portuguese language instructor.

 6116 - 12 Wednesdays, September 7-December 7 6-8pm; no class Nov. 9 & Nov. 23 $350


6118 - 12 Saturdays, September 10-December 3 10:30am-12:30pm; no class Nov. 26 $350

 

Brazilian Portuguese: Level 2

This course is intended for students who have an elementary knowledge of Portuguese or who have completed the Introduction to Portuguese course. The course will review and expand students' knowledge of the language through a more extensive focus on grammar, vocabulary, and idioms. Through participation and interaction, students will improve their ability to communicate in Portuguese.

Cláudia Sobral Vaz, Brazilian Portuguese language instructor.

6119 - 11 Thursdays, September 1-December 8 6-8pm; no class Nov. 10, Nov. 24 & Dec. 1 $350

 

Brazilian Portuguese: Level 3

This course is open to students who have completed Level II, and to those who can communicate in Portuguese, but wish to polish their grammar and interactive skills.

Cláudia Sobral Vaz, Brazilian Portuguese language instructor.

6120 - 11 Tuesdays, September 6-November 22 6-8pm $350

 

To register, for more information or to receive a free catalog of hundreds of programs
contact 212 817-8215

 

 

 

Introduction to Cuba's Post-Soviet Economy

During the last three decades of the Cold War, Cuba has had one of the most collectivized, egalitarian, and subsidized economies within the Socialist camp. Massive shifts in global politics in the early 1990s plunged the island into severe economic crisis from which it is still reeling. These seminars will examine the changes in Cuba's socioeconomic condition since the crisis, the strategies adopted in response to it, and the major problems and challenges still facing Cuban economy and society today.
Instructor: Mario A. Gonzalez-Corzo, Ph.D. (2003), is a Doctoral Fellow at the Center for Global Change and Governance at Rutgers University.


From Son to Salsa: The Origins and Development of Cuban Popular Music in the 20th Century

Famed Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz once called Cuban popular music “a love affair between the African drum and the Spanish guitar.” This class will trace the origins and development of Cuban popular music during the 20th century. We will give special emphasis to how Cuban music has successfully “crossed borders” to the United States and the rest of Latin America, re-inventing itself along the way. We will also sample some of the many different styles of Cuban popular music including rumba, son, danzon, conga, mambo, cha-cha-cha, boogaloo, bolero, filin, trova, nueva trova, Latin jazz, and today’s styles of salsa, timba, and rap cubano.
Instructor: Ted Henken, Professor, Baruch College.
4 Tuesdays, March 8, March 29, April 12 and April 26 6-7:30
Fee: $65 series, $20 individual

I Origins
Tuesday, March 8 6-7:30
This course will trace the Spanish and African roots of Cuban music, up to 1920.

II Crossover
Tuesday, March 29 6-7:30
This class will focus on Cuban music from 1920 to 1960, the period of its mass popularization in Cuba, the U.S., and worldwide.

III The Birth of Salsa
Tuesday, April 12 6-7:30
This class will look at the effect the break with the U.S. had on Cuban music and the subsequent development of Salsa in the United States since the early 1970s.

IV Revolution and Return
Tuesday, April 26 6-7:30
This final class will look at the changes in Cuban music styles and production on the island since 1959 with special emphasis on the emergence of timba and rap and the (re)emergence of son in the 1990s.



São Paulo: Leading Region and Global City

Sao Paulo has been the leader of Brazilian development for over a century and is poised to remain the largest economy in South America. This minicourse will examine the various factors that attribute to the region's economic dynamism, including the role of export agriculture and industry; the centrality of the city of Sao Paulo; the impact of state-level processes of reform and responses to globalization; and Sao Paulo's subsequent emergence as a political power and transformation into a hub of modern Brazilian labor and business activism.
Instructor: Mauricio Font, Professor of Sociology, Queens College and The Graduate Center, CUNY; Director of the Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, The Graduate Center, CUNY; author of numerous studies of Brazil, including his most recent Transforming Brazil: A Reform Era in Perspective (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003) and his forthcoming Brazilian Statism: Rise, Limits, and Decline.
Friday, June 3 10:00am-12:00pm
Fee: $20
 

Registration: The Bildner Center organizes these courses in collaboration with the Continuing Education and Public Programs division at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. To register and for more registration information, call (212) 817-8215, send e-mail to continuinged@gc.cuny.edu, or check Continuing Education's web site http://web.gc.cuny.edu/cepp/.

Refund Policy
When programs are cancelled by The Graduate Center, Continuing Education may give you a credit and transfer your payment to another one of our programs. A full refund will be made if this is not possible or desirable. If you cancel prior to the first class: a credit for any class of equal cost, or 100% refund minus the registration fee will be returned. If you cancel prior to the second class (programs of more than three sessions): a credit for any class of equal tuition of 50% minus the registration fee. No refunds are available after the beginning of the second class.
 
Previous Minicourses
2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004