Machado de Assis and Brazilian Society in the 19th Century
Machado de Assis (1839-1908) is an Afro-Brazilian writer widely regarded as the greatest of Brazilian literature. In this course we will examine his works as we look into the social-political context in which Machado lived. We will study Brazil's history in the 19th century, from the time it achieved independence as a monarchy (1822), through its establishment as a republican system (1889). As the last western nation to abolish slavery (1888), Brazil was a place where women’s rights were egregiously overlooked, and formal education was accessible only to the white elite. We will explore how Machado de Assis’ works are structured by the Brazilian society of his time, and how they helped structure social conditions that emerged later.