Cultural Studies

Code:

MEAAM007

Acronym:

ECUL

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Cultural Studies

Instance: 2017/2018 - 1S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Anglo-American Studies
Course/CS Responsible:	Masters in Anglo-American Studies

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MEAA	13	MEAA - Study Plan	1	-	9	80	243

Teaching language

English

Objectives

The programme aims at providing the students with the information and the suitable conceptual tools for an understanding of contemporary English and North-American utopianism, with a special focus on food. It also aims at making the students aware of the usefulness of Spatiality theories, defined within the field of Post-Modern Geography, for a better understanding of the contemporary utopian message, based on micro-projects propounded in utopian and Sci-fi texts, and also in documentaries. The programme will provide students with specific skills in the framework of the Digital Humanities, as well as with theoretical information and conceptual tools that will enable them, by the end of the seminar, to have a critical understanding and a deep knowledge of some of the main paths that cross Utopian Studies and Food Studies.

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of this course, the students will be:

 

. familiar with the British and North-American Utopian literary tradition, and able to identify the main primary texts;

. able to recognize the main perspectives and critical discourses on the concepts of utopia and dystopia, and to understand the motivations and objectives behind them;

. able to recognize the main theoretical references of the field of Food Studies.

 . able to recognize the utility of Spatiality Studies theories, defined within the framework of Post-Modern Geography, for the understanding of the message of contemporary dystopianism;

. able to participate on a discussion on the concepts, discourses and fields of study in focus, and to formulate research questions benefiting from those perspectives;

. able to elaborate on one of those research questions and to make an oral presentation and prepare a written submission (preferably with a digital component) applying the concepts tools to British and North-American works of the 20th and 21st centuries.

 

 

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. Introduction: 500 years of utopias


2. Utopian Studies: Concepts and discourses


3. Food Studies: Theory and history


4. The Digital Humanities: Tools for designing new research hypotheses


5. Spatiality Studies: heterotopia and micro activism


6. Utopian Foodways: Distant reading and close reading of a selection of utopian and Sci-Fi texts.


7. Design of individual research projects - crossing the fields of Utopian Studies and Food Studies – on contemporary utopian and Sci-Fi texts

Mandatory literature

Atwood, Margaret; The Handmaid’s Tale, Vintage , 1996
Wells, H. G.; The Time Machine. The War of the Worlds., Orion, 2004
Orwell, George; Nineteen Eighty-Four, Penguin, 2000. ISBN: 0-14-118247-4

Teaching methods and learning activities

 For the introductory part to the fields of Utopian Studies and Food Studies, new knowledge will be built on knowledge that students may have previously informally acquired either in an academic or an informal context.

. With regard to the main theories and perspectives of Utopian Studies to be debated, there will be an investment in the discussion, with the participation of all the students, of theoretical texts in both "small group" and "large group" format, according to a framework of questions. Occasionally, there will be scheduled presentations by the students of "reading reports"

. The analysis of all the selected texts will always be done according to the model of participated discussion.

. The individual research projects will be discussed with all the students in tutorial meetings; it will preferably have a practical component that entails resorting to Digital Humanities’ tools.

. SIGARRA platform will be used for the publication of information and for communication with the students. Moodle will be used for the publication and sharing of material and for the submission of written assignments.

keywords

Humanities > Literature > European literature > Germanic literature > English literature
Humanities

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	15,00
Prova oral	25,00
Trabalho escrito	60,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	35,00
Frequência das aulas	45,00
Trabalho de investigação	163,00
Total:	243,00

Eligibility for exams

a) Active participation in the seminar; b) oral and written presentation of a research paper on one of the works of the list prepared by the teacher.

Note: Students are expected to attend at least 75% of the seminar sessions.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final mark will be based on the following evaluation components: ) -Active participation in seminars -15%; b) oral presentation - 25%; c) a written essay to be discussed at the end of the semester - 60%

Examinations or Special Assignments

n/a

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

n/a

Classification improvement

n/a

Observations

Language of instructions: Portuguese of English, according to the characteristics of the students.