Sumários

Discussion of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"

27 Setembro 2022, 18:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Discussion of students' reactions to Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"

Analysis of style and literary structure of the story as well as an overview close reading (manual)

Contextualisation of "The Metamorphosis" within the literary movement of its time and its impact on contemporary literature. 

Listening Comprehension and Discussion

22 Setembro 2022, 18:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Students did a reading comprehension exercise to J.K. Rowling's 2008 commencement speech delivered at Harvard University - " The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination". 


This exercise was followed by a discussion of the concept of imagination as presented by Rowling.

Students have to finish reading Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" for next class.

Literary analysis - close reading and contextualisation

20 Setembro 2022, 18:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Students had to read segment one of Kafka's The Metamorphasis.


First we discussed students response to the section they had read - they had to describe what they felt about it in a) a word, b) a phrase or c) a sentence. 
We discussed these responses and how the text produced these effects

Students then did a literary close reading exercise with the opening 3 paragraphs and discussed the elements they had highlighted.

I then presented students with the socio-cultural realities of Kafka's life and how these are reflected in the writing.
As The Metamorphasis is a modernistic text we discussed the characteristics of this type of text and discussed how it fit into literary movements.

Students have to read segment two of Kafka's The Metamorphasis for next class

Analysis and discussion of critical text

15 Setembro 2022, 18:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

Students had read Mohsin Hamid's opinion article "We risk being ruled by dangerous binaries" 


They discussed the points that had stood out to them in groups and this was folled by a general discussed and analysis of the article in class. 

Course Program and Evaluation Criteria

13 Setembro 2022, 18:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

English in the World of the Arts:C2          

2022/2023Academic Year 1st Semester

 

Lecturer: Cecilia Beecher Martins

 email address: cbeecher@campus.ul.pt

 

 

 

Requirements

To enrol students must have passed English C1.2 or to have been placed at English C2 level on doing the FLUL Placement Test.

 

 

General Objects for English in the World of the Arts: C2

At the end of this UC, students will know how to develop a reflective and analytical encounter with the arts (literature, cinema, TV and comics) in English. They will learn a range of analytical techniques such as close reading of literary texts, visual literacy, adaptation studies and other academic techniques of literary and film analysis while considering how the arts reflect society and drive social change.

Students will express themselves spontaneously in the spoken and written form of the language, with a high level of fluency and accuracy in accordance with CEFR standards for level C2.

 

Program

 

While following the CEFR guidelines for Academic English at a C2 level, the expectations and specificities of language learning related to “the world of the arts” at a School of Arts and Humanities were also considered in the construction of the course programme.

The role of the arts in society in general and the potential of the arts as vehicles for epistemic justice (Fricker Epistemic Injustice 2007), and personal reflection (Holland Meeting Movies 2006, Holland & Schwartz Know Thyself 2008) will be explored.

Also, working with literature, film and TV series, students will be introduced to the vocabulary and techniques of close reading for literary texts as well as visual literacy applied to film and TV series, and then perform individual exercises. They will also be introduced to the concepts associated with adaptation from text to screen and discuss different approaches and methods. Students will then work individually with one of the assigned research sets (book and film/TV adaptations) using the techniques and research methods above.

Moreover, as this is a C2 English language level, throughout the semester, students will perform a variety of writing and oral exercises to illustrate their dominion of the English language, as well as CPE Use of English exercises.


Students will use tools offered in the aforementioned texts in their written assignments. However, while working on technical analysis, students will also be encouraged to reflect on the following questions:

What is art?

What makes great literature?

How come some artists and writers die in poverty but their work makes them immortal – other enjoy fame and fortune while alive, but their work is quickly forgotten?

What contemporary writers/artists will be still valued in the next century and what best-selling authors’ names will be forgotten in the next generation?

Why are some classics, not only revered in their original form, but also transposed into other art forms and/or returned to by successive generations of artists and writers?

Do the arts reflect or impulse change in society?

Are the arts changed by society?

Students will ask these questions as they read one the following novels:

Dick, Philip K Do Androids Dream of Electic Sheep. 1968

Christy Lefteri. Songbirds. Manilla Press. 2022.

Jhumpa Lahiri. The Namesake. Harper Collins.2004.

Mohsin Hamid. The Last White Man. Riverhead Books. 2022.

 

And work with one the following films:

 

Curtiz, Michael. dir. Casablanca. 1942.

Nair, Mira. dir. The Namesake. 2006.

Villeneuve, Denis. dir. Blade Runner 2049. 2017.

 

Reference Reading:

Barnet, Sylvan and William E. Cain. A Short Guide to Writing about Literature 12th Ed. Longman. 2011.

Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing about Film 8th Ed. New York: Longman, 2012.

Fricker, Miranda Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing. OUP. 2007.

Herman, David (ed) The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. CUP. 2007.

Holland, Norman Meeting Movies. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2006.

Holland, Norman & Murray Schwartz. Know Thyself: The Delphi Seminars. PsyArt Foundation. 2008

Relevant extracts from these texts will be found in the Anthology available at the beginning of the semester. 

 


Notes on Participation Attendance and Punctuality: Active participation in both class and group discussions is not only reflected in your final mark but it also ensures you develop fluency and confidence. Classes start ten minutes after the hour. Your presence and arrival on time is essential and will be reflected on your final mark — being late not only disturbs class but is also a sign of disrespect for your classmates and your teacher. Please let me know at the beginning of class if you need to leave class early for any formal motive or if you are expecting an urgent phone call. Smart Phones, tablets and laptop are only to be used for class purposes.

 

Please note that the Test date has been set, but extenuating circumstances sometimes require changes in the Course Calendar.

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Grading and Assessment

A student-centred teaching approach will be used following a task-based methodology.

Students will be presented with the working/research methods and then work individually with the materials in the research set of their choice for their oral presentation and research essay. 

40% Written test – this will be based on the theoretical content presented and contents of research sets - – 29th November.

15% Continuous Assessment: students will be expected to read and discuss the theoretical texts presented during the semester.

15% Oral Presentation: Students will deliver a 12-minute close reading of a film still, short clip or short extract from either the film or the book in their research set A 100-150-word section of the literary text will suffice for the close reading - Dates set in calendar. 

1-2 film stills or a 1-minute excerpt will suffice for the visual literacy exercise.

Both exercises should begin:

1) locating the extract/still/scene in the original text and contextualise it in terms of relevance

2) read the text/show the still and ask students to pick out the elements that stand out to them – because of class size there will be 2-3 discussants for each presentation.

3) perform the analysis – incorporating the elements illustrated by students

4) finish by referring to how the extract/stills/scene selected informed, drive or altered the narrative flow of the film.

30% Essay (1,000 words) Students will work individually with the materials in one or more of the four research sets presented below. They will write a research essay on any aspect of their research set that interests them and fits in with the theoretical frameworks we work with in this CU.

Writing a research paper requires in-depth and concentrated reading/viewing and thinking. This work takes time and effort, so start reading your novel quickly and consider which of the themes you would like to work with, e.g. the work as a reflection of society at its time and/or its “epistemic” quality, did it introduce awareness of new or different concepts – new ways of knowing or understanding conditions. You could also look at its adaptations – what is removed/added/condensed. Reflections on close reading and/or visual literacy can also be incorporated into the essays. Please feel free to discuss any ideas you have with me – this assignment is quite open.

 A 150-word abstract presenting the central research question and methodology and at least 2 references will be submitted by email on 8th November to permit discussion. A printed copy of the final essay must be submitted by 15th December.

A sample is presented over the page. As you will see this is a written text – not a bullet point item and it is a vital step in the research process as it permits discussion and reflection on the topic of choice and allows for the correction of false assumptions. Therefore, if students do not submit an abstract, they will not be allowed to present the final essay.

If work (abstract or essay) is submitted after the deadline, there will be deductions for each working day the submission exceeds the deadline.