English Seminar

Objectives

Class A

To obtain basic knowledge on British contemporary fiction and to be able to apply key concepts to the novels studiedin class, as well as to the oral and written projects

To consolidate the use of research methodologies

To be able present and debate a research project in class on one of the novels of the syllabus

To be able to write a research project on two novels chosen by the students

Class B

Introduction to scientific research techniques in the field of literary and cultural studies

Acquisition of basic concepts about postmodernism (in English and American literature and culture)

Acquisition of knowledge on the theme proposed by the Program

Research, under tutorial guidance, on the topics under study

Application of the knowledge acquired in the writing of a critical essay on one of the themes identified in theProgram at the choice of the students (with a maximum of 15 pages), in the oral defense of a work done by another student

General characterization

Code

711121053

Credits

12.0

Responsible teacher

Rogério Miguel do Deserto Rodrigues de Puga, Carlos Francisco Mafra Ceia

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - 336

Teaching language

Portuguese

Prerequisites

N/A

Bibliography

Turma A / Class A

Bentley, Nick, Contemporary British Fiction, New York, Macmillan, 2018.
Boxall, Peter, Twenty-First-Century Fiction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
James, David (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to British Fiction since 1945, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,2015.
Eaglestone, Robert, Brexit and Literature: Critical and Cultural Responses, New York: Routledge, 2018.

Turma B / Class B

Ceia, Carlos. O Que É afinal o Pós-modernismo?, Século XXI, Lisboa, 1999.
Docherty, Thomas (ed.): Postmodernism: A Reader, Harvester Wheatsheaf, Hemel Hempstead, 1993.
Eagleton, Terry: The Illusions of Postmodernism, Blackwell, Oxford, 1996.
Jameson, Fredric: Pós-modernismo: A Lógica do Capitalismo Tardio, Ática, São Paulo, 1996 (ed. Original:Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Duke University Press, 1991).

Teaching method

Class A

Theoretical classes on the British contemporary novel and on the novels to be studied
Classes on research methodologies
Oral presentation and debate of a research project
Written research project to be handed over at the end of the semester

Class B

Presentation of the various topics by the lecturer; reading and discussion of a selection of texts covering the topicsoutlined in the syllabus.

Evaluation method

Continuous assessment - Class A oral research project - 50% of the final mark written research project - 50% of the final mark Class B - Tutorial supervision of the research work related to the final paper (50% of the final mark) chosen by the student,which will be discussed by a different student (10%) and defended orally (40%).(100%)

Subject matter

Class A
I- The novel as fictional documentary of the contemporary
II- Literature, Economics and Politics: the 2008 financial crash and Brexit
III - The crash and austerity in A Week in December (2009), by S. Faulks, and Capital (2012), by J. Lanchester
IV - Brexit Lit: the divided nation in Autumn (2016), by A. Smith, and Middle England (2018), by J. Coe.

Class B
I. Introduction to the postmodern debate
II. Aspects of contemporary postmodern English-language fiction:
Topic 1: Forms of anti-literature
Theme 2: The reinvention of parody, pastiche and irony
Theme 3: The narrative play in metafictions
Theme 4: The use of self-reflexivity as a literary paradigm
III. Aspects of contemporary culture in the postmodern space in the English-speaking world:
Theme 5: The reinvention of cinema
Theme 6: Mass culture, pop art and new musical expressions
Theme 7: The crisis of the representation of the real and the society of simulacra
Topic 8: Cyberculture

Programs

Programs where the course is taught: