Description 

This module provides an opportunity to develop knowledge of the Brazilian crônica and short story as short narrative genres, based on certain principals of composition and historical reception. It will explore key concepts of narrative theory and the relationship between literature and journalism. A chronological overview of the short story and crônica will be provided with a focus on the most prominent Brazilian cronistas and short story writers from the 1870’s to the present. The module will offer a historical and literary framework for the critical exploration of the set texts, as it aims to trace the development of short fiction considering its relationship to major themes, events in post-colonial Brazilian history.

 

This module emphasises a research-based approach to teaching and learning, by requiring students to consult and critically engage with a diverse range of primary sources (newspapers, magazines, first editions, anthologies, online editions), and by developing translation skills of specific texts, as part of their assessment. Students will be encouraged to find their own primary materials of choice to write their essays. Lectures will engage with a particular author, topic, theoretical issue or historical moment and introduce the framework for the seminar discussion. Seminars will consist of close reading of set texts, small group activities, and workshops.

 

Aims of the module: 

to familiarise students with a range of cultural, historical, theorised and stylistic approaches to reading short stories and crônicas
	to develop a variety of techniques for the analysis of short fiction
	to reflect on the short story and crônica through a diachronic perspective that makes it possible to understand the diversity in the production of short fiction in Brazil
to develop an understanding of short fictional forms, their history and how this is connected to theme, cultural and social conditions, language and location
	to explore the boundaries between fiction and journalism
	to develop research skills through the examination of the different means through which short fiction is published, such as newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online editions
 

Preparatory Reading and Set Texts: 

 

 

Almeida, Júlia Lopes de, Dois dedos de prosa, Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, 2016.
	Barreto, Paulo (João do Rio), A alma encantadora das ruas /The Enchanting Soul of the Streets, Editora Cidade Viva, 2010.
	Contos para depois do ódio. Inspirados nas canções de Marcelo Yuka, edited by Julio Ludemir and Ecio Salles, Mórula Editorial, 2020.
Cony, Carlos Heitor, O ato e o fato: o som e a fúria das crônicas contra o golpe de 1964, Editora Objetiva, 2004.
	Edição Especial Brazilian Translation Club, Qorpus, volume 11, issue 1, March 2021.
	Kucinski, Bernardo, Você vai voltar para mim e outro contos, Cosac Naify, 2014.
	Lispector, Clarice, A descoberta do mundo: crônicas, Rocco, 1999.
	Lobato, Monteiro, Negrinha: Contos, São Paulo: Edição da Revista do Brasil, 1920.
Machado de Assis, Contos fluminenses, 1869 ('Miss Dollar', 'Confissões de uma viúva moça').
	Machado de Assis, Crônicas ('Aquarelas', 30 de outubro de 1859; 'Notas Semanais', 4 de agosto de 1878; 'Bons Dias!', 11 de maio de 1888, 19 de maio de 1888; 'Balas de Estalo', 4 de julho de 1883, 'A Semana', 16 de outubro de 1892).
	Machado de Assis, Páginas recolhidas, 1899 ('O caso da vara").
	Machado de Assis, Papéis avulsos, 1882 ('O espelho').
	Machado de Assis, Relíquias de casa velha, 1906 ('Pai contra mãe').
Machado de Assis, Várias histórias, 1896 ('A causa secreta').
	Machado, Ana Maria, Contos, Objetiva, 2012.
	Mariconi, Italo (org.), Os cem melhores contos brasileiros do século, Objetiva, 2001.
	Rosa, Guimarães Rosa, Primeiras estórias, Nova Fronteira, 2005.
	Reis, Maria Firmina dos ‘A escrava’, in Úrsula, Editora Mulheres, 2004.
Ruffato, Luiz (org), Nos idos de março, Geração Editorial, 2014.
	Santos, Joaquim Ferreira dos (org.), As cem melhores crônicas brasileiras, Objetiva, 2007.
Please note: This module description is accurate at the time of publication. Minor amendments may be made prior to the start of the academic year

 