- UCAS course code
- PR50
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Study Project (Portuguese)
Unit code | SPLA10600 |
---|---|
Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 1 |
Teaching period(s) | Full year |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Running parallel with the core course unit SPLA10130 Introduction to the Cultures of the Lusophone World, this is a hands-on course which will enable students to improve their reading abilities in Portuguese, whilst deepening their appreciation and understanding of literary texts and of social issues in the Lusophone world. Through a combination of small-group discussions, individual tutorials and private study, students will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to undertake close readings of texts (chosen from a prescribed list) and to write analyses of them that situate them in their social-political context. The discussions will focus on a range of tutor-led and student-led activities designed to develop an understanding of literature in Portuguese and also methods of analysing and discussing that literature.
Pre/co-requisites
Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Introduction to the Cultures of the Lusophone World | SPLA10130 | Co-Requisite | Optional |
Core course unit for Level 1 for post-A level Portuguese students, or students on certain programme combinations.
Aims
- To develop critical thinking, conceptual reasoning and analytical skills
- To develop the ability to read and analyse literary texts
- To develop the ability to place literary texts in social and political context
- To develop a better understanding of the historical and social realities of the Lusophone world
- To develop a better understanding of literary texts in Portuguese
Knowledge and understanding
Having satisfactorily completed this course unit, students will be able to:
- demonstrate an improved ability to read in Portuguese
- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of literary texts in Portuguese
- write commentaries and essays in English discussing and analysing literary texts in Portuguese
- place literary texts in their historical context within the Lusophone world
- engage critically with secondary literature and write a literature review
Intellectual skills
Having satisfactory completed this course unit, students will:
- Display cultural analytical skills (literary analysis, social and political analysis)
- Be able to value knowledge for its own sake, and to appreciate literary creativity within the Lusophone world
Practical skills
Having satisfactory completed this course unit, students will demonstrate:
- A significantly improved ability to read Portuguese
- A significantly improved vocabulary and syntax in Portuguese
- An ability to manage time, and work to deadlines;
- An improved ability to work with information and communication technology (ICT)
Transferable skills and personal qualities
Having satisfactorily completed this course unit, students will have learned to:
- undertake independent learning and reflect upon their achievements;
- participate constructively in group discussions;
- think critically and present arguments logically
Assessment methods
Assessment task | Formative or Summative | Weighting within unit (if Summative) |
Commentary Plan | Formative | |
Commentary | Summative | 40% |
Essay Plan | Formative | |
Analytical essay about a novel | Summative | 60% |
Resit Assessment
Assessment task |
Essay on novel |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Comments made during class discussion regarding the relevance and coherence of student participation in classes. | Formative |
Individual written comments on student participation at the end of Semester 1 and Semester 2 | Summative |
Individual written comments on the assessed commentary by the beginning of semester two and on the assessed essay by the end of the examination period at the end of semester two. Global feedback is delivered orally in class (for the commentary) and posted on Blackboard. | Summative and formative |
Individual written feedback on the commentary and essay plans | Summative |
Individual written comments on formative commentaries and analyses of passages | Formative |
Recommended reading
David Birmingham, A Concise History of Portugal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993). HD.
Marion Kaplan, The Portuguese. The Land and its People (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991). HD.
Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1999). HD
Leslie Bethell, Colonial Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1987). HD
Leslie Bethell, “The Independence of Brazil”, Cambridge History of Latin America, vol 3, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984): 157-196
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
---|---|
Project supervision | 4 |
Seminars | 5 |
Independent study hours | |
---|---|
Independent study | 155 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
---|---|
David Bailey | Unit coordinator |
Lucia Sa | Unit coordinator |