The Graduate Program of Literary Studies (Pós-Lit)

The Graduate Program in Letters of FALE (Faculty of Letters) of the Federal University of Minas Gerias (UFMG) was originally created in the first academic semester of 1973 and was later restructured in second academic semester of 1975. The Program, in its origin, was divided into three areas of concentration at the Master’s level: Linguistics, English Language Literature, and Brazilian Literature. In 1984, a Doctoral Studies option was approved in Comparative Literature. In 1993, the Program was divided into two parts, thus creating the Program of Letters in Linguistic Studies and the Program of Letters in Literary Studies. The latter is recognized as Pós-Lit, which had in its implementation, five areas of concentration: Brazilian Literature (Master’s studies), English Language Literature (Master’s studies), Literary Theory (Master’s studies), and Comparative Literature (Doctoral studies). The lines of research were: Literature and Psychoanalysis, Poetics of Modernity, Literature and other Semiotic Systems, Comparative Theory, Literature and Expressions of Otherness, and Historical and Cultural Memory. In the initial organization of the Program, ‘Lines of Research’ were considered cross sections to complement the ‘Areas of Concentration’, an innovative model that remains in current practice. Due to delays in processing between the Program and CAPES, the restructuring process that separated the Linguistics and Literary Studies program was put into effect officially in 1998.1

In all evaluations prior to 1998, the Program was awarded a grade ‘A’ by CAPES. In the biennial evaluation for the period of 1996-1997, the Program was awarded the highest grade, ‘six’, available to newly administered programs. In the triennial evaluation of the period 1998-2000 the Program earned a grade of ‘seven’, the maximum score possible, which was repeated in all subsequent evaluations. These grades reflect the fact that CAPES recognizes the Program as a national and international reference of excellence.

The four triennial cycles of achieving the highest possible grade has not caused the program to rest on its laurels. One of the strengths of the Program has been its capacity to promote a continuous process of self-evaluation and transform itself to remain current with the challenges and evolution of the literary studies field. The process of internal review is accredited to the research activities by students and faculty of the Program, the ‘Research Nuclei’ of the Faculty of Letters, the beneficial interactions between veteran and junior faculty, and new groupings of academic interests. Inter-program revision motivated an intense and thorough internal evaluation in March of 2011 and February of 2012 which led to the proposal of pertinent modifications and actions. From this rich process of collective discussion, the majority interests proposed a restructuring of the program to take effect in 2013.

This restructuring, in part, took aim at improving the quality of academic periodicals supported by the Program. The Program currently supports three academic publications. The literary journal, Aletria (Qualis A1), reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the program, presenting profiles of diverse topics, frequently organized by one of the Research Nuclei administered by the faculty. Born from the former ‘Revista de Estudos de Literatura’, which consisted of five publications between 1993-1997, Aletria began as a thematic, annual publication before becoming a biannual publication in 2006 and later a publication presented four times a year beginning in 2009. The sequence of thematic titles offers an overview of the interests of the Research Nuclei and Lines of Research. The publication can be accessed at: http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/aletria.

The Program also supports the publication of the academic periodical O Eixo e a Roda: Revista de Literatura Brasileira, which upholds the same level of excellence in its area of concentration and also earns the Qualis ‘A’ by CAPES. The objective of the biannual publication is to foster the theoretical and critical production in the area of Brazilian Literature by combining the academic research of Brazilian and international critics. Since 1982, the journal has been maintained by the Faculty of Letters of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil) and, along with its peer journals, contributes to the quality debate and advancement of research in the area of literary studies. The publication can be accessed at: http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/o_eixo_ea_roda.

The Program also proudly sponsors an electronic publication edited by the department’s graduate students. The periodical Em Tese is published four times a year and seeks to divulge the current production and research in the area of literary studies and literary arts. The journal can be accessed at: http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/emtese.

Over the past four decades, considering the previous period of restructuring, the Program has achieved a strong relevance in the area of literary studies and has solidified a profile recognized in all of Brazil. In this manner, the Program contributed to the expansion of literary studies programs, formerly concentrated in a limited number of institutions, to create new options for graduate studies candidates in the country. The process of internationalization, although already part of the course of studies of the Program since the 1970s, through the participation in international agreements and supporting visiting professorships, intensified in the mid-1980s. The Program incorporated interdisciplinary studies into the ‘Lines of Research’ in the year 1993. Following a complete revision of its structuring, the Graduate Program in Literary Studies continues to concentrate its efforts on maintaing its high standards of excellence in the area, as it has in previous decades.

 

Structure of the Program

 

In 1998, the Graduate Program of Letters: Literary Studies and Linguistics Studies was restructured to form two separate programs creating the Graduate Program of Literary Studies (Pós-Lit) and the Graduate Program of Linguistics Studies (Pós-Lin). Upon the division, CAPES, considered them to be new programs.

It should be noted that the Master’s Program was formed in 1973, the Doctorate Program in 1973. In 2010, the combined studies were referred to as the Graduate Program of Literary Studies (Pós-Lit).

On March 30, 2012, the collegiate body of the Program unanimously approved a proprosed restructuring of the Program and procedural alterations. The restructuring and alterations took effect in April of 2012.

From then on, the structure of the Program was comprised of two levels, the Master’s and Doctorate studies, five ‘Areas of Concentration’, and seven ‘Lines of Research’.

Areas of Concentration
. Brazilian Literatures
. Classic and Medieval Literatures
. English Language Literatures
. Modern and Contemporary Literatures
. Literary Theory and Comparative Literatures


Lines of Research - Master’s and Doctorate Level Studies

Edition and reception of literary texts (ERTL)

Description: The study of literary texts and their reception, from the point of view of their origin, to their original preparation, subsequent editions, textual elements, commentaries, critiques, and interpretations.

Contemporary Literature and Politics (LPC)
Description: The study of literature and its intersections through a contemporary line of reasoning and political analysis.

Literature and Psychoanalysis (LP)
Description: The study of convergences between the literary and psychoanalytic experience, also using reading the ‘meaning of the letter’ through a Lacanian and Freudian perspective.

Literature, History, and Cultural Memory (LHMC)

Description: Study of the relationships between literature, history, and cultural memory with the objective of investigating its articulations between lived experience, fiction and social organization, as well as archived records and primary sources.

Literature, and other arts and medias (LAM)

Description: The study of critical and theoretical aspects associated with Interarts Studies, understanding the relationships between literature, other arts, and varying media productions throughout history.

Poetics of Modernity (PM)
Description: The study of the poetics of Modernity from the perspective of theoretical and literary practices.

Poetics of Translation (PT)
Description: The study of literary translation and its poetics from a critical, theoretical, and historical perspective that encompasses the practices of translation in its various modalities.

 

Master’s Program

Duration of the course of study

Course of study begins in the first semester of each academic year in accordance with the academic calendar of the University.

Minimum duration: One year

Maximum duration: Two years

Admission

Students are admitted to both an ‘Area of Concentration’ and to a ‘Line of Research’ within the number of available positions. The holder of an undergraduate diploma may apply for admission to the Master’s Program.

 

Master’s Dissertation

A Master’s dissertation is recognized as a theoretical or critical written research about a topic relevant to the area of literary studies.
The dissertation should:

  1. Be connected to one of the ‘Areas of Concentration’ or to the one of the ‘Lines of Research’ of the Program.

  2. Contain a clear demarcation of the topic to be studied and the reasoning behind its selection.

  3. Include a comprehensive bibliographic review about the topic of study.

  4. Present an elaborate, relevant theoretical foundation and a clearly developed argument which reflects the capacity of the student’s command of the scientific method.

  5. Be in accordance with the standards of the language studied; texts of students pursuing studies in English Language Literature should be written in English.

  6. Follow the norms of ABNT vigorously; students pursuing studies in English Language Literature have the option to follow the norms of MLA.

    The Doctoral Program (Ph.D)

Duration of the course of study

Course of study begins in the first semester of each academic year in accordance with the academic calendar of the University.

Minimum duration: Two years

Maximum duration: Four years

 

Admissions

Students are admitted to both an ‘Area of Concentration’ and to a ‘Line of Research’ within the number of available positions. The holder of an undergraduate diploma may apply for admission to the Doctoral Program.



Thesis
A doctoral thesis is recognized as an original, theoretical or critical written research about a topic relevant to the area of literary studies. The thesis should make a significant contribution to the area of study.

The thesis should:

  1. Be connected to one of the ‘Areas of Concentration’ and one of the ‘Lines of Research’ of the Program.

  2. Contain a clear demarcation of the topic to be studied and the reasoning behind its selection.

  3. Include a comprehensive bibliographic review about the topic of study.

  4. Present an elaborate, relevant theoretical foundation and a clearly developed argument which reflect the capacity of the student’s command of the scientific method.

  5. Be the result of an advanced and original research.

  6. Be in accordance with the standards of the language studied; texts of students pursuing studies in English Language Literature should be written in English.

  7. Follow the norms of ABNT vigorously; students pursuing studies in English Language Literature have the option to follow the norms of MLA.



1 CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior), founded in 1951, is the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education.