(in Polish) Aktualne zagadnienia społeczno-polityczne 3305-AZSP-11
The course provides an overview of the most important contemporary social and political processes in Portugal, Brazil, and the Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP). Classes address current challenges related, among others, to the functioning of political systems, social transformations, migration, inequalities, urbanization, demographic changes, and identity politics. The role of the media, public debate, and key human rights issues in Portuguese-speaking countries are also analyzed.
The course adopts a comparative approach and examines the place of the member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) within a broader global context. Particular emphasis is placed on working with up-to-date materials — including reports, analyses, statistical data, and media sources — as well as on developing students’ ability to critically interpret contemporary social phenomena.
Brasil
This module is devoted to the analysis of contemporary Brazil as a complex social formation in which political, economic, and cultural processes are deeply rooted in the long-lasting legacy of colonial, slave-based, territorial, and class structures. The classes are not intended to be merely introductory or descriptive in nature. Their aim is to present Brazil as a society that has repeatedly attempted to build forms of modernity — state, industrial, urban, democratic, and civic — without fully breaking away from the historical mechanisms of inequality.
Portugal
The Carnation Revolution (1974) as the beginning of Portugal’s democratization and as a point of departure for understanding and analyzing the contemporary social structure that will be examined during the course (including the country’s population, emigration and immigration, and the situation of women). We will also explore the political and economic situation of contemporary Portugal, from its accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) to the recent years of political and economic turbulence, including political parties and their leaders, as well as the political and social aspirations of young Portuguese people.
PALOP
In the section of the course devoted to the PALOP (African Countries with Portuguese as an Official Language), we will closely examine the socio-political issues of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The classes will address topics ranging from these countries’ independence from Portugal to the civil wars and conflicts that followed. We will explore the problems and challenges faced by these newly independent states, as well as their socio-cultural diversity. Particular attention will be given to areas such as politics, culture, education, and the economic and geopolitical situation of these countries.
To complement the module, we will also refer to similar issues in relation to the Asian territories of Macau and East Timor, which are members of the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries).
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: the graduate knows and understands:
S1_W01 the place and significance of literary studies, history, and linguistics within the system of sciences, as well as their subject-specific and methodological characteristics.
S1_W03 the specificity of research on the Portuguese-speaking area within literary studies and other humanities disciplines.
S1_W06 phenomena and processes related to the history of the Portuguese-speaking area, as well as the specialist terminology and methodology appropriate to historical studies, their sources, and applications.
S1_W07 the historical context of literary, cultural, and linguistic processes in the Portuguese-speaking area.
S1_W11 recent history as well as phenomena in the contemporary socio-political and cultural life of Portugal, Brazil, and Portuguese-speaking Africa, and their connection to broader global issues.
S1_W13 the specificity of work in various economic sectors related to culture and foreign languages.
Skills: the graduate is able to:
S1_U01 using various sources and methods, search for, analyze, evaluate, select, and use information in order to solve complex problems characteristic of the disciplines in which the degree programme is conducted.
S1_U06 identify and determine the connections between cultural texts, especially literary texts, and their historical and cultural context, as well as their social and cultural impact.
S1_U11 prepare written and oral work in Polish and Portuguese (European variant) using specialist terminology, especially in the disciplines covered by the degree programme, while observing the principles of ethics and intellectual property law.
S1_U12 independently acquire knowledge and develop skills with regard to the need for lifelong learning.
S1_U14 apply acquired knowledge and skills to perform tasks in a dynamically changing professional environment.
Social competencies: the graduate is ready to:
S1_K01 critically evaluate possessed knowledge and sources of information.
S1_K02 recognize the importance of knowledge, especially scientific knowledge, in independently solving cognitive and practical problems, and seek expert opinions in cases of difficulties in solving them.
S1_K04 independently undertake and co-organize activities aimed at the common good, taking into account accepted social obligations and respect for cultural differences, particularly those resulting from the specificity of Portuguese culture.
Assessment criteria
Attendance is a mandatory requirement for passing the course. Failure to meet the attendance requirement results in failure of the course, regardless of the results obtained in the remaining assessment components. Each student is allowed one unexcused absence per semester with each course professor. The minimum attendance requirement for classes is 60%
After fulfilling the attendance requirement, a student may obtain a maximum of 100 points. The final grade consists of the following components:
1. Final test covering the entire course material — 50 points = 50%
2. Class participation — 25 points = 25%
3. Final written assignment — 25 points = 25%
Total: 100 points = 100%
Passing grades for the final test are awarded according to the following scale:
99–100% — 5! (excellent/distinction)
93–98% — 5.0 (very good)
87–92% — 4.5 (good plus)
77–86% — 4.0 (good)
71–76% — 3.5 (satisfactory plus)
60–70% — 3.0 (satisfactory)
To obtain the highest grade (5!), students must submit a short analytical written paper concerning a selected issue related to contemporary Brazil, Portugal, or the PALOP countries, interpreted from a social, political, historical, or international perspective. The paper should adopt a problem-oriented rather than purely descriptive approach. Students choose one issue concerning contemporary Brazil, Portugal, or the PALOP countries and analyze it using the concepts discussed during the course.
The final written assignment is not required to obtain a passing grade, but it is required in order to receive a grade higher than 4.0. A student who does not submit the written assignment may obtain a maximum of 75 points, corresponding to a maximum final grade of 4.0, even if they receive the full number of points for the final test and class participation.
A student wishing to obtain a grade higher than 4.0 must submit the final written assignment.
Grading scale:
Number of points
0–50 points — 2.0
51–60 points — 3.0
61–70 points — 3.5
71–80 points — 4.0
81–90 points — 4.5
91–100 points — 5.0
Bibliography
Brazil
Required reading;
Kula, Marcin. Historia Brazylii. Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1987.
Schwarcz, Lilia M.; Starling, Heloisa M. Brazil: A Biography. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux / Picador, 2018/2020. Wybrane fragmenty.
Brum, Eliane. Kolekcjoner porzuconych dusz. Reportaże z Brazylii. Wołowiec: Czarne, 2019. Wybrane reportaże.
Domosławski, Artur. Śmierć w Amazonii. Nowe eldorado i jego ofiary. Warszawa: Wielka Litera, 2013. Wybrane fragmenty.
Rohter, Larry. Brazil on the Rise: The Story of a Country Transformed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Selected excerpts
Supplementary reading;
Anderson, Perry. Brazil Apart: 1964–2019. London–New York: Verso, 2019.
Cardoso, Fernando Henrique; Faletto, Enzo. Dependency and Development in Latin America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Selected excerpts for interested students
Furtado, Celso. The Economic Growth of Brazil: A Survey from Colonial to Modern Times. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963. Selected excerpts for interested students.
Skidmore, Thomas E. Brazil: Five Centuries of Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press, subsequent editions
Levine, Robert M.; Crocitti, John J., eds. The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Durham: Duke University Press, 1999 or later editions, if available.
Theodoro, Mário. A sociedade desigual: racismo e branquitude na formação do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2022. For students with knowledge of Portuguese.
Reports, data, and analytical materials;
OECD. Education in Brazil: An International Perspective.
OECD. Education at a Glance: Brazil country note.
World Bank. Brazil Country Overview oraz Poverty and Inequality Platform: Brazil.
Human Rights Watch. World Report: Brazil.
Freedom House. Freedom in the World: Brazil.
Bertelsmann Stiftung. BTI Transformation Index: Brazil Country Report.
IBGE — Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Selected demographic and social data.
IPEA — Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada. Wybrane raporty i wskaźniki.
Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública. Wybrane dane dotyczące przemocy i bezpieczeństwa publicznego.
MapBiomas. Wybrane dane dotyczące użytkowania ziemi, Amazonii i deforestacji.
Portugal
1. Hancock, M., Przewodnik ksenofoba - Portugalczycy, Wydawnictwo Finebooks, 2017
2. Hermano Saraiva, J., Krótka Historia Portugalii, Universitas, 2000
3. Ikonowicz, M., Zawód korespondent. Wilno-Hawana-Madryt, Oficyna Wydawnicza Branta, 2007.
4. Klementowska, I., Samotność Portugalczyka, Czarne, 2022
6. Zupełnie Inny Świat - Portugalia, nr.60, 03/2026
7. https://www.presidencia.pt
8. https://www.ine.pt- Instituto Nacional de Estatística
9. https://ffms.pt/pt - Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos
as well as current press materials (Polish newspapers and periodicals)
PALOP
1. M. Tymowski, Europejczycy i Afrykanie, Wyd. Naukowe Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika, Toruń 2017.
2. B.Hlibowicka-Węglarz, Portugalskie języki kreolskie w Afryce, Lublin 2013 (pierwsze rozdziały;
3. M.Newitt, A History of Mozambique, London 1995 (on-line)
4. P. Curtin et al., Historia Afryki. Narody i cywilizacje, Gdańsk 2003.
5. M.Meredith, Historia Współczesnej Afryki. Pół wieku niepodległości, Warszawa: 2011.
6. B.Davidson, Społeczna i polityczna historia Afryki w XX wieku, Warszawa 2011.