Brazil: Between Literature and History 3305-BMLH-SEM-MGR

The master’s seminar “Brazil: Between Literature and History” is intended for graduate students in the Portuguese and Brazilian specialization. The course is interdisciplinary in character and focuses on Brazil as a space in which literature, history, culture, and collective memory intersect.
The seminar combines literary and historical perspectives. The literary component concentrates on the analysis of selected texts of Brazilian literature, narrative strategies, and ways of representing social, cultural, and political experiences. The historical component provides the context for the phenomena discussed, including such processes as colonization, slavery, the formation of the state and the nation, modernization, the military dictatorship, and contemporary social transformations.
The seminar provides a space for academic discussion, presentation of research projects, and the development of methodological competences. Participants will work on formulating a research problem, selecting analytical tools, constructing a thesis outline, compiling a bibliography, and preparing the subsequent stages of their master’s thesis.
The final range of topics will take into account the research interests of the participants. The outcome of the seminar is the preparation of a master’s thesis in Portuguese. By the end of the first year, participants should have defined their research problem, thesis topic, outline, and preliminary bibliography; by the end of the second year, they submit the completed master’s thesis.

Course coordinators

Jerzy Mazurek
Aleksandra Pajek

Type of course

Master's seminars

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

A participant in the seminar should have a command of Portuguese sufficient for independent work with literary, historical source, and scholarly texts, as well as for preparing a master’s thesis. Prior knowledge of the culture, literature, and history of the Portuguese-speaking world, especially Brazil, will be useful.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes for the Portuguese specialisation
The graduate knows and understands
S3K_W01 — the subject-specific and methodological characteristics relevant to the field of study, which they are able to develop creatively and apply in professional activity, as well as advanced terminology in the field of study.
S3K_W02 — the connections between Iberian Philology and other fields of the humanities and social sciences.
S3K_W03 — basic concepts and principles concerning intellectual property protection and copyright law, as well as the need to manage intellectual property resources.
S3K_W05 — the terminology, theory, and methodology of the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
S3K_W06 — contemporary achievements of research centres and schools, covering selected areas of the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
The graduate is able to
S3K_U01 — use acquired research skills, including the critical analysis of cultural products and social phenomena in Portugal, the synthesis of various ideas and viewpoints, the selection of methods and construction of research tools, and the preparation and presentation of results, enabling original solutions to complex problems within the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
S3K_U02 — independently acquire knowledge in the field of study and develop research skills, as well as undertake autonomous actions aimed at developing abilities and managing one’s own professional career.
The graduate is ready to
S3K_K01 — cooperate in a group, assuming different roles within it.
S3K_K02 — resolve dilemmas related to the practice of the future profession.
S3K_K03 — critically assess their own knowledge and skills, and understands the need for continuous improvement and development.
S3K_K04 — actively participate in the culture of the studied region, using various forms and media, and is able to work in a team while assuming different roles.
Learning outcomes for the Brazilian specialisation
The graduate knows and understands
S4K_W01 — the subject-specific and methodological characteristics relevant to the field of study, which they are able to develop creatively and apply in professional activity, as well as advanced terminology in the field of study.
S4K_W02 — the connections between Iberian Philology and other fields of the humanities and social sciences.
S4K_W03 — basic concepts and principles concerning intellectual property protection and copyright law, as well as the need to manage intellectual property resources.
S4K_W04 — scholarly and cultural phenomena in Brazil, and in particular has in-depth knowledge of the connections between new research and trends in the field of study and other humanistic discourses.
S4K_W05 — the terminology, theory, and methodology of the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
S4K_W06 — contemporary achievements of research centres and schools, covering selected areas of the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
The graduate is able to
S4K_U01 — use acquired research skills, including the critical analysis of cultural products and social phenomena in Brazil, the synthesis of various ideas and viewpoints, the selection of methods and construction of research tools, and the preparation and presentation of results, enabling original solutions to complex problems within the fields and disciplines relevant to Iberian Studies.
S4K_U02 — independently acquire knowledge in the field of study and develop research skills, as well as undertake autonomous actions aimed at developing abilities and managing one’s own professional career.
The graduate is ready to
S4K_K01 — cooperate in a group, assuming different roles within it.
S4K_K02 — resolve dilemmas related to the practice of the future profession.
S4K_K03 — critically assess their own knowledge and skills, and understands the need for continuous improvement and development.
S4K_K04 — actively participate in the culture of the studied region, using various forms and media, and is able to work in a team while assuming different roles.

Assessment criteria

The seminar is assessed on the basis of the participant’s systematic work on the master’s thesis project, active participation in classes, involvement in seminar discussions, presentation of research progress, and timely completion of the successive stages of the thesis.
The requirements for passing individual semesters are as follows:
Semester I:
• defining the research problem of the planned master’s thesis.
Semester II:
• defining the topic of the master’s thesis;
• preparing a thesis outline including the aim of the thesis, research questions, planned structure, and preliminary bibliography.
Semester III:
• submitting a fragment of the master’s thesis of at least 12 pages.
Semester IV:
• submitting the completed master’s thesis.
The following elements are subject to assessment: regularity of work, progress in the research project, ability to formulate a research problem, selection of methodology and bibliography, quality of presentations of research progress, active participation in seminar discussions, and timely completion of the tasks required in a given semester.
Attendance is obligatory. Two unexcused absences per semester are allowed. Each additional unexcused absence must be made up in the form of an additional task agreed upon with the instructors, for example a short mini-project, presentation, discussion of a reading, or written analysis of an issue related to the seminar topic.
In preparing the master’s thesis, written assignments, presentations, and in any use of artificial intelligence tools, seminar participants are required to comply with the rules set out in the applicable regulations of the University of Warsaw, in particular the guidelines concerning the use of artificial intelligence tools in the educational process. The use of AI systems in the preparation of the diploma thesis must be agreed upon by the thesis supervisor and the student. The aims, scope, and manner of using AI systems should be clearly described in the thesis, especially in the introduction or in the methodological section. The use of AI systems does not release the student from responsibility for the content of the thesis, in particular for the reliability of sources, respect for copyright, and the independence of analysis and conclusions.
The seminar is assessed in accordance with the detailed rules for conducting and assessing master’s seminars applicable to the Iberian Philology programme from the academic year 2026/2027. According to these rules, the seminar is intended to support the preparation of the master’s thesis, the development of research and methodological competences, the presentation of research projects, and academic discussion.

Bibliography

Academic Writing and Research Methodology:
Eco, Umberto. Como se faz uma tese em Ciências Humanas. Lisboa: Editorial Presença, 2015.
Rennicke, Iiris et al. Manual de escrita acadêmica / académica em português: guia para a elaboração de teses e outros trabalhos escritos. Helsinki: Universidade de Helsinque, 2024.
Silva, Edna Lúcia da; Menezes, Estera Muszkat. Metodologia da pesquisa e elaboração de dissertação. 4. ed. Florianópolis: UFSC, 2005.

Literary studies tools:
Bonnici, Thomas; Zolin, Lúcia Osana, org. Teoria literária: abordagens históricas e tendências contemporâneas. Maringá: Eduem, 2019.
Burzyńska, Anna; Markowski, Michał Paweł. Teorie literatury XX wieku. Podręcznik. Kraków: Znak, 2006.
Burzyńska, Anna; Markowski, Michał Paweł, red. Teorie literatury XX wieku. Antologia. Kraków: Znak, 2006.

Literature on the subject of history
Methodology of historical research:
• Marc Bloch, Pochwała historii, przeł. Wanda Jedlicka; przedmowa Witold Kula, PWN, Warszawa 1960 (wyd. 2, Wydawnictwo Marek Derewiecki, Kęty 2009)
• Edward H. Carr, Historia. Czym jest, przeł. Piotr Kuć, Zysk i S-ka, Poznań 1999
• Jerzy Topolski, Metodologia historii, PWN, Warszawa 1984
• Georg G. Iggers, Historiografia XX wieku, PWN, Warszawa 2010
• Marian Pawlak, Jerzy Serczyk, Podstawy badań historycznych. Skrypt dla studentów I roku, WSP, Bydgoszcz 1999
• Aleksander Świeżawski, Warsztat naukowy historyka. Wstęp do badań historycznych, WSP, Częstochowa 2001
• Jerzy Topolski, Wprowadzenie do historii, Wydawnictwo Poznańskie, Poznań 2006
Sources and general studies
• Borys Fausto, História do Brasil, 10ª edição, São Paulo 2002
• Marcin Kula, Historia Brazylii, Warszawa: Ossolineum, 1987
• Celso Furtado, Formação econômica do Brasil, 30ª edição, São Paulo 2001.
• Brasil, 500 anos em documentos, (org.) Ivan Alves Filho, Rio de Janeiro: Mauad, 1999.
• Andrzej Dembicz, Filozofia poznawania Ameryki, CESLA, Warszawa 2006
• Rossano Pecoraro, Filosofia da História, ZAHAR, Rio de Janeiro, 2009.
• Edward Kołodziej, Ryszard Mrowiec, Ameryka Łacińska, Hiszpania i Portugalia w Źródłach Archiwum Akt Nowych do roku 1945, CESLA, Warszawa 1996;
• Jan Pitoń, „Polonia brazylijska w Archiwum Państwowym w Rio de Janeiro i archiwach innych stanów” [w:] Inwentarz zbioru archiwalnego ks. Jana Pitonia CM, red. M. Kubas-Paradowska, W. Krawczuk, Warszawa 1989;

Detailed primary and secondary literature, sources, and bibliography will be selected according to the research topics developed by the seminar participants. Seminar work will also make use of digital libraries, archives, and databases, in particular the Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin, Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira, SciELO Books, and Domínio Público.