Fernando Rocha
Associate Professor of Luso-Hispanic Studies
frocha@middlebury.edu
work(802) 443-5476
Fall 2020: By appointment
Warner Hall 05
Fernando Rocha obtained a Master's and a PhD degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He also holds a Master's degree in Letters (Brazilian Literature and Literary Theory) from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Prof. Rocha just finished a book manuscript on Brazilian novelist Graciliano Ramos. His present research interests focus on the writings of subalterns in Brazil and on the intersections between voice and vocal performance and literature. He has articles published in journals such as Luso-Brazilian Review and ArtCultura.
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
IGST 0703 - LAS Senior Thesis ▲
Latin American Studies Senior Thesis
(Approval Required)
Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021
PGSE 0210 - Beginning Port/RomanceSpeakers
Accelerated Beginning Portuguese
This course is an intensive and fast-paced introduction to Portuguese, covering all of the basic structures and vocabulary as well as important aspects of the cultures of Lusophone countries. Within a cultural context, emphasis will be placed on active communication aimed at the development of comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Students are expected to continue with PGSE 0215, after successful completion of PGSE 0210. Open to all students. 6 hrs. lect./disc. LNG
Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020
PGSE 0215 - Advanced Portuguese ▹
Advanced Portuguese
This course is a continuation of PGSE 0210. It is designed to balance textual and cultural analysis with a thorough review of grammar at an intermediate/high level. Students will hone their critical thinking and linguistic skills through guided readings, oral discussions, and short written assignments on Lusophone cultural topics. (PGSE 0103 or PGSE 0210 or by waiver) 4 hrs. lect./disc. LNG
Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2020, Spring 2021
PGSE 0321 - Food and Brazilian Culture
With Flavor: Food and Brazilian Culture
In this course we will focus on the food being produced and consumed in Brazil in its relation to Brazilian culture and history. Topics include how food and Brazilian culinary practices are related to certain aspects of Brazilian society, such as the Northeast’s landed oligarchy, Afro-Brazilian culture in Bahia, regional, national, and transnational identities, women and gender constructs, and the experience of hunger. Narratives (fictional, non-fictional, and theoretical) will be drawn from different media: printed and online texts as well as audio-visual materials, such as songs and popular music videos, films, TV series and cooking programs. The course will also entail preparation and degustation of Brazilian dishes. (PGSE 0215 or by approval) 3 hrs. lect. AAL AMR LNG SOC
Fall 2019
PGSE 0324 - Slavery and Resistance
Slavery and Resistance: Visions for the Present
In this course we will analyze how slaves and slave communities in Brazil were able to forge different modes of resistance in the face of the atrocities that resulted from the trans-Atlantic slave trade. We will delve into printed and audio-visual materials to analyze how resistance operated at both a macro and a micro level, but also extend our study into the present, looking at how Brazilians nowadays reinvigorate old forms of resistance. The ultimate goal of the course is to establish a bridge between those enslaved communities’ self-empowerment and the students’ visions of resistance in the present time. We will also work on developing students’ language abilities at an advanced level. (PGSE 0215 or by approval). 3 hrs. lect. AAL AMR LIT LNG
Fall 2017
PGSE 0355 - Brazilian Cinema: Wide Angle ▹
Brazilian Cinema: The Wide Angle
In this course we will focus on how Brazilian cinema, from the 1950s popular chanchada comedies onwards, has attempted to represent and give voice to subaltern social groups and subjectivities. The sertanejos and favelados, Indigenous and Black Brazilians, women and LGBTQ+, inmates and revolutionaries, are all in front of the lens, but often holding the camera as well. Films will be from different modes of production, ranging from mass production to independent. Analyses will be informed by readings on film theory and criticism, subalternity, queer theory, feminism, critical race theory, social analysis, and history. (PGSE 0215, or by approval) 3 hrs lect AAL AMR ART LNG
Spring 2021
PGSE 0500 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
(Approval Required)
Winter 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Winter 2018, Spring 2018, Winter 2019, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021
La niña del Derosipam
Mi madre soñaba en francés
