Harvard College
Course Instructor(s): Bruno Carvalho
In this seminar we will explore literary representations of urban experience, and how the evolution of cities has been shaped by writing. Topics include the impact of technology on cities as lived and imagined spaces; interfaces between literacy, orality, and visual cultures; intersections between fiction, poetry, and social history; porous boundaries between built and natural environments; relationships between modernity, writing, and urban planning. Focus will be placed on major cities of the Portuguese-speaking world and authors like Machado de Assis, Fernando Pessoa, Patrícia Galvão, and Clarice Lispector.