Myths and Heroic Models - 1st semester

Objectives

a) To reflect upon literary myth, from the perspective of comparative literary studies;
b) To define heroic models and scrutinize their common underlying mythic basis;
c) To develop personal research on given texts;
d) To learn critical bibliography on the studied subjects;
e) To write textual analysis and theoretical reflexion texts on the basis of all acquired contents.

General characterization

Code

722111042

Credits

10

Responsible teacher

Ana Paiva Morais

Hours

Weekly - 3 letivas + 1 tutorial

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

not applicable

Bibliography


Blumenberg, Hans, Work on Myth, Cambridge, Mass.-London, The MIT Press, 1990.
Burkert, W. (2001), Mito e Mitologia. Lisboa: ed. 70.
Durand, G. (1989). As estruturas Antropológicas do Imaginário. Trad.Hélder Godinho. Lisboa: Presença.
Lévi-Strauss, C. (2007). Mito e Significado. Trad. António Marques Bessa. Lisboa: Edições 70.
Nunes Esteves, E., Reffóios, M., Silva, M., Vilela, AL. (Eds).(2014). Representações do Mito na História e na Literatura. Évora: Cel.

Teaching method

1. seminars on topics of the syllabus focusing specifically on historic and theoretic issues; students will be introduced to methods of efficient organization of information and development of critical skills; reading critical studies and literary bibliography aims to provide students with significant scientific autonomy and the capacity to evaluate their learning progress;
2. supervised practical analysis of critical and literary texts chosen in the perspective of the course and relevant for their study and discussion with the group ;
3. Preparing students to produce an essay on a topic of the syllabus.
Seminars: 60%; lectures: 40%.
In class teaching

Evaluation method

Students are required to submit the following pieces of assessment:
1. 2 classroom assignments - oral presentations 40%;
2. 1 individual essay to be discussed oraly with the group (15 pages) - 60%.

Subject matter


1. The literary myth: historical and theoretical framework of the problem;
2. Study of mythical models and types of hero (and anti-hero) in Western Art; 3. The literary myth of \"Don Juan\":
3.1. El Burlador de Sevilla, Tirso de Molina;
3.2. Don Juan, Molière / Bertold Brecht´s version of Don Juan
3.3. D. João e a Máscara, António Patrício;
4. Rewriting the myth of Œdipus:
4.1. Jean Cocteau, La Machine infernale
4.2. Natália Correia, O progresso de Édipo
4.3. Philip Roth, The Human Stain
5. Particular structures of myth: the cathabasis and its parody; metamorphosis.