Contemporary English Culture

Code:

LA006

Acronym:

CICON

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Cultural Studies - English

Instance: 2014/2015 - 1S

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

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LA	65	LA - Study Plan	1	-	6	52	162
LLC	5	Plano Oficial do ano letivo 2013_2014	2	-	6	52	162
			3

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

. To familiarise students with Cultural Memory Studies theories;

. To familiarise students with the most important moments of British history, encouraging them to

participate in the discussion of issues related to the idea of British national identity;

. to foster an understanding of English Contemporary Culture by analysing the way the nation remembers, celebrates and represents its past

. to provide students with situations of collaborative work;

. to stimulate students to independent study.

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of the semester, students are expected to be familiar with the conceptual tools under discussion and to able to apply them to other works and cultural objects that will provide them with a better understanding of English contemporary culture.

Working method

Presencial

Program

1. 
   

   Contemporary English Cultural Memory: Representations of British National Identity

   
   

    

   
   
   
   
   1.       Contemporary British Cultural Memory
   
   
   
   

   1.1.  The concept of “Englishness”

   
   

      1.1.1 England your England (1941), by George Orwell.

   
   

   1.2.  The concept of “representation”.

   
   

   1.3.  Introduction to the field of Cultural Memory Studies

   
   
   
   
   1.       Representations of British National Identity in Literature
   
   
   
   

   2.1.  England, England, by Julian Barnes

   
   

    

   
   
   
   
   1.       Representations of British National Identity in Film
   
   
   
   

   3.1.  British Historical Film

   
   

   3.2.  Representations of nation and power: excerpts from historical movies on Henry VIII, Thomas More, Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles I and Queen Victoria. 

   
   

Mandatory literature

Orwell, george; England your England and Other Essays (Available for download at http://orwell.ru/library/books/htm_file/eye)
Barnes, Julian; England, England, Picador, 1998
Barnes, Julian; England england, Vintage, 2012

Teaching methods and learning activities

The teaching methodology will have into account the diverse nature of contact hours.

 

Theoretical Classes will offer students an opportunity to contact with texts aiming at famialiarising them with the conceptual tools pertinent to the understanding of the perspective propounded by Cultural Memory Studies.

 

Practical Classes will foster the discussion of the concept of English national identity in England, England, as well as on a selection of historical films.

 

Tutorial Classes will rely on group work. Students will be invited to do research and  to critically discuss one movie, sharing the results of that research with the other students.

 

Individual and collaborative works are to be posted on Moodle. 

keywords

Humanities

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	10,00
Prova oral	20,00
Teste	50,00
Trabalho de campo	20,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de projeto	31,00
Estudo autónomo	77,00
Frequência das aulas	54,00
Total:	162,00

Calculation formula of final grade

Evaluation will be “distributed” (there will not be offered a “final exam” option), and will be based on the following elements: 

Attitude in class: attendance and oral participation – 10%
Individual presentations – 20%
Collaborative work – 20%
Written tests (taken over the course of the semester) – 50%