Research Seminar

Recommended Prerequisites

Proficiency in English.

Teaching Methods

This seminar is based on group discussion, bibliographic research and individual tutoring. These methods will foster the methodological and theoretical skills required for designing and drafting a thesis project. The thesis project is publicly presented for evaluation at the end of the semester.

Learning Outcomes

Students will

a) Investigate electronic and bibliographic sources relevant to each thesis project, according to the methodological perspective of ‘Materialities of Literature’;
b) Make a productive use of search engines, knowledge bases and digital repositories, such as SIIB/UC, PORBASE, b-on, Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP) and Google Scholar;
c)  Correctly use the conventions for annotating, citing and referencing bibliographic and electronic sources;
d) Develop the ability to articulate and justify an autonomous scientific research project;
e) Develop critical and self-critical competence when interacting with peers in a research context;
f) Develop proficiency in the use of digital tools in literary research, including editing and publishing platforms, and software programmes for textual analysis and data visualization;
h) Understand and apply the key strategies for effective oral presentations.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

This Research Seminar focuses on the specific skills required for advanced research. It will help students formulate a sound and informed individual thesis project to be pursued during the following five semesters. Through intensive group work, it will explore the possibilities of articulating the acquired knowledge of literary practices with the methodologies based on the analysis of their specific materialities. This seminar will bring together (1) the scientific context of this research programme, (2) the definition of a corpus for analysis and (3) the formulation of a specific problem. At the end of this research seminar students will present the project of their doctoral theses, which will be evaluated by the Programme professors and other Faculty members in a formal discussion.

Head Lecturer(s)

Manuel José de Freitas Portela

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Research work: 25.0%
Project: 75.0%

Bibliography

BERRY, David M., ed. (2012). Understanding Digital Humanities. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
BURDICK, Anne et al. (2012). Digital_Humanities, Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
GIBALDI, Joseph (2009). MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York: MLA [7th edition].
GOLD, Matthew K., ed. (2012). Debates in the Digital Humanities. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P.
Guia do Curso (2010-2015): https://matlit.wordpress.com/sobre/guia-do-curso/
PORTELA, Manuel, ed. (2005-2015). ‘F de Ferramentas | T for Tools’’, in DigLitWeb, http://www.ci.uc.pt/diglit/DigLitWebFdeFerramentas.html
PRICE, Kenneth M. and Ray Siemens, eds. (2013). Literary Studies in the Digital Age: An Evolving Anthology (MLA, 2013) http://dlsanthology.commons.mla.org/
SCHREIBMAN, Susan et al. eds. (2004). A Companion to Digital Humanities. http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companion
SCHREIBMAN, Susan et al. (2008). A Companion to Digital Literary Studies. http://www.digitalhumanities.org/companionDLS/.