Cultural Studies

Code:

MEAAM007

Acronym:

ECUL

Instance: 2008/2009 - 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	15	Study Plan since 2007/2008	1	-	8	3

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The programme aims at providing the students with the information and the suitable conceptual tools for an understanding of 20th century English and North-American dystopianism. 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 dystopian message.

Program

The programme has a strong theoretical emphasis. It includes the consideration of a number of theoretical texts which are fundamental both to the field of Utopian Studies (namely with regard to contemporary dystopianism) and to the field of Spatiality Studies. We will try to prove that the negative perception of the dystopian non-place is strongly related to the existence of confined spaces, closed to the majority of the people. We will look at, on the other hand, the small spaces of evasion that some utopian inhabitants manage to build, i.e., the heterotopias within the dystopias. The analysis and discussion of the theoretical texts will occupy 8 of the 15 sessions of this seminar. The application of those theories to the two books of compulsory reading will be carried out, with the involvement of the students, in the 9th and 10th sessions; in the last 5 sessions the students will be invited to apply those theories to some utopian works suggested by the teacher.

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

Teaching will be centred on the students, offering them an opportunity to understand the contents of the programme by debating the main issues and by carrying out individual and / or group activities. Blended E-learning will be promoted, by combining the weekly encounter with on-line participation.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Description	Type	Time (hours)	Weight (%)	End date
Subject Classes	Participação presencial	45,00
	Trabalho escrito	146,00		2009-01-17
	Total:	-	0,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Description	Type	Time (hours)	End date
	Estudo autónomo	25	2009-01-17
	Total:	25,00

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;
c)construction of a portfolio containing a weekly reflection on the themes dealt with in each session;

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

Calculation formula of final grade

Wheigted average of the result of the components above mentioned.

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.