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Works presented

Inclusive rewrites. Intermedial reinterpretation and reframing in the construction of new identities for King Arthur, Queen Charlotte, Macbeth, and Hamlet.
Authorship
A.C.C.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.16.2024 15:30
Summary
Traditionally, verisimilitude in literary, audiovisual, or artistic works focused on accurately representing the historical context of characters in terms of their gender identity, ethnicity, physical appearance, or sexuality. This study aims to investigate the recent phenomenon of inclusive rewriting with a historical background in its adaptation to new media, exemplified by cases such as Queen Charlotte, King Arthur, Hamlet, or Macbeth, which are reinterpreted in works like Fat Ham (Ijames, 2022), Avalon High (Gillar, 2010), Voodoo Macbeth (Welles, 1936), Hamlet the film (Zeffirelli, 2015), or Bridgerton (Netflix, 2020). Methodologically, it proposes an interdisciplinary approach combining comparative and intermedial studies with gender theory and postcolonial perspectives. Thus, it will apply and expand upon the Adaptation 2.0 Comparative Studies on Intermediality model (Gil González and Pardo, 2018), building on critical studies such as Feminism Without Borders (Mohanty, 2003) and Post-Colonial Studies (Ashcroft, 2007). The general objective is to analyze the factors characterizing this new wave of activist fictions, capable of promoting new social values.
Direction
GIL GONZALEZ, ANTONIO JESUS (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FEIJO TORRES, ELIAS JOSE (Chairman)
GUTIERREZ GARCIA, SANTIAGO (Secretary)
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Member)
William Burroughs: From Author to Myth
Authorship
P.E.C.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.16.2024 16:30
Summary
Whoever ventures to read the work of the American author William Burroughs will find that it contains numerous literary transfers. Aspects related to his own life experience and bibliographic data fill his texts, giving them three-dimensionality, since, thanks to them, a double reading of the works can be done. The present work wishes to shed light on the phenomenon of cultural transfers in the author's creations, especially in cases in which these go beyond the original text and are translated into films, graphic novels, songs or performances performed by third parties. The work aims to analyze the literary transfers found in different media, with the ultimate goal of discovering and explaining how these remodel the image of Burroughs as an author and turn him into a myth.
Direction
GOMEZ PATO, ROSA MARTA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FEIJO TORRES, ELIAS JOSE (Chairman)
GUTIERREZ GARCIA, SANTIAGO (Secretary)
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Member)
Dynamics of Culture in Galicia Today: The Case of the CULTURGAL Fair and the Galician Publishing Field
Authorship
S.D.S.S.P.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.16.2024 17:30
Summary
In the current century, the weight that different areas of the creative industries have been gaining is perceptible, with quantitative aspects of these industries becoming increasingly frequent. Linked to these new dynamics, events such as festivals and fairs have emerged and renewed, focusing on these diverse sectors; a phenomenon that Galicia is not alien to. Thus, as an example, besides literary festivals and the already consolidated book fairs in Galician towns and cities, other events have been emerging, such as the increasingly prominent music festivals. In that line, but with a more ambitious formula, there is the Culturgal fair, whose first edition took place in Pontevedra in 2007 under the name Cultur.gal/Cultur-gal, promoted by the Association of Galician Publishers (AGE), and which laid the foundations of what, 15 years later, it continues to be: a fair for companies, professionals, and institutions. [...]. A space to connect artists, creators, and companies with professionals in cultural management, programmers, companies, and institutions (Culturgal, https://www.culturgal.com/culturgal/que-e-culturgal). The main objective of this work is, taking into account the diversity of cultural events in the Galician territory today, to focus on the Culturgal fair as a case study of cultural dynamics in Galicia and, specifically, the analysis of the (re)presentation of the publishing sector in this event and in the Galician cultural field during the period delineated by the fair's celebration to the present day. It should be noted that, at the time Culturgal was born, the Law 17/2006, of December 27, on the book and reading of Galicia (https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2007/BOE-A-2007-3036-consolidado.pdf) had just been approved, and among the different cultural sectors hosted by this event, the publishing sector has a prominent weight. The theoretical-methodological perspective for its approach is fundamentally from the sociology of literature and culture based on the proposals of Pierre Bourdieu (1993) and Gisèle Sapiro (2016), as well as recent analyses of international festivals and fairs linked to the creative industries. Bibliography: Bourdieu, Pierre (1993) The Field of Cultural Production, Columbia University Press. Sapiro, Gisèle (2016) The metamorphosis of modes of consecration in the literary field: Academies, literary prizes, festivals, Poetics, v. 5, 5-19.
Direction
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FEIJO TORRES, ELIAS JOSE (Chairman)
GUTIERREZ GARCIA, SANTIAGO (Secretary)
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Member)
Comparison of neutral writing of female images in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse and Yan Geling's White Snake
Authorship
Y.W.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.16.2024 19:30
Summary
To the Lighthouse is an exemplary work by the writer Virginia Woolf, a famous British novelist and feminist literary critic of the 20th century. Since its publication, the work has received much attention from scholars at home and abroad, and her labor contains rich feminist ideas, and the female images portrayed in her novels are unique and full of realistic meaning. Yan Geling, a famous Chinese writer, has been committed to localized women's literature and writing in her mother tongue. Due to the circumstances of her life and the changes she suffered, the writer is at the crossroads of Chinese and Western cultures, and her cultural identity and life experience in this ‘mobile’state make the theme and style of her works show a uniqueness different from that of mainland writers. Yan Geling is adept at placing women at the center of her literary writing and expresses her thoughts on Chinese women's consciousness through writing female images. White Snake is the most special female figure in Yan Geling's entire piece, but also the most special existence in Chinese literature at the time, and her literature of same-sex love breaks with traditional Chinese writing about women. Although Yan Geling and Woolf lived in different times and had singular cultural backgrounds and life paths, they both showed the exploration of women's self-consciousness in their works. By analyzing and comparing these two works, this TFM demonstrates that feminism reflects more on real life and is concerned with the real world. The paper is divided into five parts: The first one analyses the neutral female images common to the two works, and compares the intermediality of women in To the Lighthouse and White Snake in terms of the characteristics of these female images, the relationship between self-consciousness and the social environment, as well as the roles played by women in society and the family. It is interesting to analyze this special female figure through the theory of biological neutrality. The second part, using classical narrative theory and the concept of the unreliable narrator, compares the construction of women's image in the two works from the perspective of narrative techniques, Woolf's H-shaped structure, and Yan Geling's multiple inner-centred narratives and explores how these two different narrative techniques have created two distinct female images. In the third part, through Freud's Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, and Carl Jung's analysis of his bisexual psyche, we will examine the awakening of the female gender from the point of view of the male figure, and the expression of feminism within the framework of gender conflict between men and women. In the fourth part, the reasons for the two different images of the gender-neutral woman are evaluated from the perspective of the cultural background of the stories and the authors themselves. And in the fifth part, the exploration of the concept of gender by the two writers in their novels, the disparities and the meaning for reality is evaluated. Woolf's works are often examined from the perspective of androgyny. This MFT introduces the concept of ecology to investigate Yan Geling's White Snake and Woolf's To the Lighthouse, trying to compare the literary works under different cultural and social environments from a new perspective. Through the exploration of neutral female figures in the works of Virginia Woolf and Yan Geling, this study reflects on the obstacles that gender imposes on female self-realization, thus providing valuable insights for ecological theory in the fields of literature, gender, and social development.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FEIJO TORRES, ELIAS JOSE (Chairman)
GUTIERREZ GARCIA, SANTIAGO (Secretary)
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Member)
Contrast of female images and their destinies in the novels Jane Eyre of Charlotte Brontë, and Qing Cheng Zhi Lian of Eileen Chang
Authorship
Z.X.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.16.2024 18:30
Summary
With the development of the feminist movement and the rise of women's social status, the creative consciousness of Eastern and Western female writers has gradually emerged. The choice of expressing inner emotions through words has been favored by more and more writers. Charlotte Brontë and Eileen Chang represent the development of feminist novels in 19th and 20th century England and China. The protagonists Jane Eyre and Bai Liusu of the two works are representative figures of the awakening of female consciousness in the history of Chinese and foreign literature. Jane Eyre is the most popular novel in Britain in the 19th century, especially with a strong feminine consciousness. The creative background, character and thoughts of the protagonist, story structure and ending are similar to the Chinese novel Qing Cheng Zhi Lian from a hundred years later. From the two novels, we can see the resonance between two women of different eras and identities over a hundred years. This TFM will carry out a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the works Jane Eyre and Qing Cheng Zhi Lian from a comparative perspective, and studies the differences in female consciousness in different countries and the reasons for the different destinies of the heroines of the novels.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FEIJO TORRES, ELIAS JOSE (Chairman)
GUTIERREZ GARCIA, SANTIAGO (Secretary)
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Member)
A feminist look at the works of Carolina Coronado
Authorship
V.M.L.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
09.13.2024 10:50
Summary
This work proposes a study on the writer Carolina Coronado from a feminist point of view. For this, thanks to the contextualization of the poets life, with special emphasis on her participation in the Lyric Society along with some of her earliest writings, poems and the letters preserved from her correspondence with other writers of the time, plus the fragments From some of her earliest works, we will be able to see how feminism emerges and evolves until reaching the key work in this matter Paquita. In this way, through the construction of the characters and the enunciation of the content of the works itself, it will be possible to see how, indirectly, he criticizes the patriarchal society of his time.
Direction
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Tutorships)
Court
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Secretary)
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Member)
New readers and configurations of literary genders in social networks through the case of Defreds
Authorship
P.F.F.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
09.13.2024 10:00
Summary
The emergence of literature in the digital environment has radically transformed the way in which the written word is produced, consumed and shared. This phenomenon has been intensified by the proliferation of social media, redefining literary genres and the relationship between authors, works and readers. In this way, literature has embraced brevity and dynamism to satisfy the preferences of online audiences. All these changes have also given rise to a new generation of readers who immers themselves in narratives in ways previously unimaginable redefining the way of reading. The main objective of this work will be to show how all these innovative elements have caused traditional genres, specifically poetry, to change. To do so, the study will focus especially on the figure of Defreds, a poet born in social media, examining the distincitive characteristics of the author.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Secretary)
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Member)
Analysis of Dispositio in Juan Rulfo's short stories.
Authorship
S.G.G.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
09.12.2024 17:15
Summary
A diferencia de como ocurre en otras disciplinas artísticas, la idea de dispositio (o forma, o estructura) goza de escasísima atención desde la preceptiva poética y la retórica o desde la teoría literaria moderna. Una dilatada sucesión de ilustres “inventores de la pólvora” y de escuelas que prometían dar cuenta definitiva del “funcionamiento” de la forma de la obra poética y que se quedaron en agua de borrajas protagonizan, especialmente en época actual, la historia del pensamiento sobre la dispositio literaria. El objetivo de este trabajo, por ello, no es hacer una revisión histórica de la idea de dispositio ni tampoco aprovechar modelos clásicos o formalistas o estructuralistas, etc, para dar cuenta, una vez más, de su aplicación práctica; sino apostar por una concepción hasta ahora marginal de la forma poética y dar cuenta de ésta de manera práctica, procediendo, precisamente por lo interesante que resulta, a ojos de la dispositio, la técnica con que se elaboraron, a través del análisis de los cuentos que se reúnen en El llano en llamas, de Juan Rulfo.
Direction
AZAUSTRE GALIANA, ANTONIO (Tutorships)
Court
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
The filmic rewriting from the french postcolonial subject: regarding Les Misérables
Authorship
M.C.O.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
09.12.2024 16:30
Summary
This paper aims to analyze the film Les Misérables (2019), by Ladj Ly, as a rewriting of Victor Hugo's novel that repeats and transforms the literary text, adapting it to a new context based on the framework of the cinematographic genre known as banlieue cinema, The TFM will consist of two main parts. Firstly, both works will be analysed from a comparative perspective based on the postmodern theories of thematology that emerged at the end of the century with authors such as Bernheimer or Naupert, who expanded the field of study from an interdisciplinary perspective in order to be able to exercise political criticism that assumes a commitment to the cultural battle. This analysis will allow us to move on to a second part, where Ladj Ly's film will be studied from the perspective of current French postcolonial theory, which considers race to be the constitutive element of capitalist violence and exploitation in relation to modernity. This will allow us to establish the film not only as an appropriation of the novel, but also as a critical review of modernity from postcoloniality within the framework of film-literary studies.
Direction
VILLANUEVA PRIETO, FRANCISCO DARIO (Tutorships)
Court
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
The digital didactic prototype as a solution for ELE classes in a virtual environment: a proposal for level A1
Authorship
A.E.O.D.S.
Master in Applied Linguistics
Defense date
09.20.2024 16:00
Summary
Nowadays, the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (ELE) in virtual educational contexts is becoming increasingly common. Therefore, applied research can support the development of digital native materials that facilitate the teaching-learning process. With this work, we set out to create and apply a digital didactic prototype structured in the Learning Management System (LMS) Google Classroom, as well as to test its validity and effectiveness with Brazilian A1 level students who wish to learn Spanish as a foreign language. The device was created for a specific context of individualised online classes. For this purpose, we divided the learning into two moments: the first asynchronous and the second synchronous. We have used Google Classroom, to structure the asynchronous part and encourage flipped learning. In addition, we used the digital application Quizizz to create a synchronous session that was a more interactive experience during the online class. The application allowed us to use audio/video recording resources, written production and quiz games in the synchronous classroom moment. The tools provided more integration in the practice of communicative skills (reading and listening comprehension/writing and speaking production), as well as recording students' productions in the classroom. The main objective of the model we developed was to promote greater interactivity in the classroom, in turn better preparing students for synchronous learning. The main results obtained in this work are linked to the enhancement of interactivity, dynamicity and greater interaction between teacher/student in the synchronous classroom. In addition to improving student motivation, the digital didactic prototype proves to facilitate the teaching task by enabling the creation of digital didactic sequences based on the task-based approach methodology adapted to virtual teaching environments.
Direction
VALCARCEL RIVEIRO, CARLOS (Tutorships)
Court
PREGO VAZQUEZ, GABRIELA (Chairman)
ESTEVEZ GROSSI, MARTA (Secretary)
ALVAREZ DE LA GRANJA, MARIA (Member)
Construction of a small Chinese-Spanish parallel corpus
Authorship
W.T.
Master in Applied Linguistics
Defense date
09.20.2024 16:45
Summary
In an increasingly globalized world, multilingual communication and intercultural understanding are essential. Parallel corpora, which align texts in different languages, have become key tools for improving translation, language learning, and multilingual information processing. However, Chinese-Spanish resources are scarce, prompting the development of a parallel corpus to address this gap. In this project, automatic alignment is crucial, facing challenges due to linguistic differences. Solutions are proposed to improve alignment accuracy, with the goal of optimizing results and enhancing the quality of the corpus.
Direction
DOVAL REIXA, IRENE (Tutorships)
Court
PREGO VAZQUEZ, GABRIELA (Chairman)
ESTEVEZ GROSSI, MARTA (Secretary)
ALVAREZ DE LA GRANJA, MARIA (Member)
Spanish learners with Mandarin Chinese as language 1: analysis of their learning from CAES data. (Corpus of Spanish Learners)
Authorship
S.Q.
Master in Applied Linguistics
Defense date
09.20.2024 10:00
Summary
In the context of globalization, due to the Chinese government's diplomatic policies and the strengthening of cultural exchange with Spain, cultural interactions between China and Spain have become more and more frequent. These interactions are not only manifested at the diplomatic level, but also in language learning. China's interest in Spanish has grown significantly, in part due to the widespread popularity of Latin music on the international stage and the continued popularity of Spanish-language cinema in the Chinese market (Martínez, 2010). These cultural phenomena have effectively driven the popularization of Spanish in China, especially in terms of enthusiasm for learning Spanish as a second language. With the expansion of Spanish language teaching, the importance of investigating the difficult points that arise during its learning has also grown. In Spanish, gender and number agreement is an essential grammatical requirement, which manifests itself through the modification and inflection of nouns, adjectives, determiners and pronouns. The number morpheme distinguishes between singular and plural, however, some words, such as neutral pronouns (that, that) and certain quantifiers (someone, nobody, every), lack a plural form, which can present difficulties for learners of Spanish (Bra, 2016). However, as native speakers of Chinese do not often use similar grammatical structures, especially the absence of a grammatical gender system, this presents an additional challenge in language learning. In comparison, the gender system in many Indo-European languages is complex, usually involving masculine, feminine and neuter, and the classification is often related to biological gender and can distinguish between animate and inanimate objects (Luraghi, 2011). Therefore, mastering gender and number agreement in Spanish is a significant obstacle for Chinese learners. This study is devoted to exploring in depth the specific problems Chinese learners face when learning Spanish, particularly in terms of gender and number agreement. By analyzing data from CAES (Corpus de Aprendizaje del Español) corresponding to Chinese B1-level learners, we selected 1,697 sentences for the study and finally chose 150 typical samples for detailed analysis. These samples mainly involve gender agreement errors, number agreement errors and combined gender and number agreement errors. The results show that gender matching errors constitute 6.07% of the samples analyzed. Common errors include the incorrect use of articles or adjectives, and the use of nouns that do not match typical gender endings, an example of this would be writing ‘comidas típicas’ incorrectly as ‘comidas típicos’, ‘una maleta’ incorrectly as ‘un maleta’, or ‘la computadora’ incorrectly as ‘el computadora’. Numerical agreement errors are present in 2.53% of the samples analyzed, with the main problems being the use of plural forms of nouns and adjectives, such as writing ‘dos semana’ instead of ‘dos semanas’. Although combined gender and number errors are less frequent, accounting for only 0.23%, this finding highlights the complexity of handling gender and number agreement simultaneously in practical language use. These findings not only highlight the prevalence of gender and number agreement errors among Chinese learners of Spanish, but also provide important insights for improving teaching methods. Educators need to formulate more effective teaching strategies and exercises targeting these specific grammar points to help learners overcome these obstacles and improve their level of language proficiency.
Direction
ESTEVEZ GROSSI, MARTA (Tutorships)
Court
MELLADO BLANCO, MARIA DEL CARMEN (Chairman)
SANTALLA DEL RIO, MARIA PAULA (Secretary)
MELISS , MEIKE (Member)
Linguistic typology and translation: an approach to vertical motion events
Authorship
A.I.G.R.S.R.
Master in Applied Linguistics
Defense date
07.22.2024 10:15
Summary
In this study, we focus on analysing the expression of vertical motions is described and the strategies used to translate languages belonging to the same typology. Through an approach focused on Talmy’s lexicalization patterns and Slobin's proposal of thinking for speaking, we seek to explore some differences and similarities in the representation and translation of vertical motion events. We examine some linguistic trends that influence the expression of these events in Galician, Spanish and Portuguese, verb-framed languages, compared to those that are verified for a satellite-framed language such as English. The results of this study seek to contribute to the knowledge of the relationship between linguistic typology and translation, highlighting the importance of considering such differences when translating vertical motion events.
Direction
LUBKE , BARBARA (Tutorships)
Court
PREGO VAZQUEZ, GABRIELA (Chairman)
ESTEVEZ GROSSI, MARTA (Secretary)
ALVAREZ DE LA GRANJA, MARIA (Member)
Analysis of errors in the Automatic Translation of Multiword Expressions
Authorship
J.Z.
Master in Applied Linguistics
Defense date
07.22.2024 09:30
Summary
Multiword expressions (MWEs) are a significant topic in the fields of natural language processing (NLP) and machine translation. MWEs hold a prominent place in language, especially in NLP and lexicography. Effectively handling MWEs is crucial for improving the accuracy of machine translation. This master's thesis, based on the automatic translation system for Galician, TradutorNós, aims to collect and analyze the errors that occur in this system when translating multiword expressions, in order to optimize translation results. The study's results are evaluated by comparing the machine translation with a manually translated version, to assess the effectiveness of the machine translation system and propose suggestions for improvement. By proposing hypotheses about the errors that occur in the automatic translation of MWEs, and then verifying them in practice, the obtained results are discussed. The objective is to help enhance the capability of machine translation systems to handle MWEs, with the aim of increasing the accuracy and naturalness of translations, thus promoting the development of linguistic technology and translation research.
Direction
GARCIA GONZALEZ, MARCOS (Tutorships)
Gamallo Otero, Pablo (Co-tutorships)
Court
PREGO VAZQUEZ, GABRIELA (Chairman)
ESTEVEZ GROSSI, MARTA (Secretary)
ALVAREZ DE LA GRANJA, MARIA (Member)
The integration of digital lexicographic learning objectives in virtual German as a foreign language classrooms at A1 level: An empirical study at the Goethe-Institut Philippinen
Authorship
A.A.R.T.
European Master in Lexicography
Defense date
09.19.2024 10:00
Summary
In today's digitalised world, online dictionaries are essential for foreign language learners. This is due to the widespread availability of smartphones, laptops and tablets. Although electronic resources are widely accepted and offer various advantages, studies show that the use of such resources is limited by learners' rudimentary dictionary usage skills. As part of an empirical study, the didactisation of online dictionary use is investigated and the digital lexicographical learning objectives are integrated into communicative foreign language teaching. The present study focusses on the explicit teaching of online dictionary use in a virtual German language class at the Goethe-Institute Philippines and its integration at the A1 level among Filipino learners of German. The results demonstrate significant optimisation after the explicit teaching of dictionary use, especially in terms of plural formation, adjective intensification and collocations. The in-class training has improved Filipino learners' awareness and competence in the use of online dictionaries. It is recommended to familiarise learners with various online dictionaries and tools, in order for them to exhaust different information types in the online dictionary which could help in their foreign language learning journey.
Direction
DOMINGUEZ VAZQUEZ, MARIA JOSE (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ VAZQUEZ, MARIA JOSE (Coordinator)
VALCARCEL RIVEIRO, CARLOS (Chairman)
Buchi , Eva (Secretary)
Gouws , Rufus Hjalmar (Member)
Gender Stereotypes in Education: An Analysis of EFL textbooks Used in China
Authorship
C.Y.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
02.02.2024 13:00
Summary
Gender stereotype is a widespread social cognitive pattern referring to people’s one-sided and fixed ideas and expectations of male and female attributions, which has a great influence on children’s recognition and attitudes towards genders in society. The claim is that textbooks are one of the main materials that children learn about the conception of gender and schools play an essential role in teaching children gender equality and junior high school stage is the crucial period of developing gender recognition, so that understanding the gender stereotypes in these textbooks is beneficial to help children establish correct gender concepts. The main aim of this study is to examine the extent of gender stereotyping representations in two English textbooks used in junior high schools, focusing on the eighth grade. To that effect, a qualitative and quantitative analysis is conducted of the linguistic features and pictorial representations of gender stereotypes as portrayed in two EFL textbooks popularly used in China edited by People’s Education Press. The quantitative approach will help us to objectively quantify the frequency of such features and representations, while the qualitative approach will be endorsed to illustrate gender stereotypes across the two modes under inspection.
Direction
GOMEZ GONZALEZ, MARIA DE LOS ANGELES (Tutorships)
Court
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Chairman)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Secretary)
ESTEVEZ SAA, MARGARITA (Member)
The Refugees’ Infinite Threshold: the Perennial Reshaping of Ecotonal Identities, as Seen in The Girl Who Smiled Beads (2018) by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil.
Authorship
V.A.S.V.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.10.2024 18:00
Summary
Cross-border crises are at the spotlight in the current geopolitical world scenario, where frontiers are often perceived both as territorial limits and cultural boundaries. At the center of the conflict are the refugees. This dissertation aims to carry an innovative evaluation of the refugee experience seen as a sociopsychological and physical instance of the liminal process, along with the ecotonic identities that spring from said experience. Liminality and its stages, the fluctuation of ecotones, and studies of trauma, serve as the paper’s fundamental theoretical framework, employed to evaluate Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil’s The Girl Who Smiled Beads (2018). Hence, the life-writing narrative becomes a recount that proves that at the center of the dynamic seesaws between marginalized collectives and center regions, refugees continuously find themselves in a position of ambiguity: the fluidity of their legal status and their identity (both at the individual and collective level), poses a clear example of beings who stand in a perpetuate threshold. In order to create a space of deep rummaging, the theory-based methodology draws from a corpus of works that fall in the interdisciplinary fields of border and liminal studies -such as, Liminality and the Short Story: Boundary Crossings in American, Canadian, and British Writing (2015), edited by Jochen Achilles and Ina Bergmann, Liminality and the Modern Living Through the In-Between (2014) by Bjorn Thomassen, Refugee Imaginaries, Research Across the Humanities (2019), edited by Emma Cox, Sam Durrant, David Farrier, Lyndsey Stonebridge, and Agnes Woolley, among others. Moreover, the theoretical foundations of the dissertation pave the way for a thorough cross-examination of the selected autobiographical narrative, thus providing a much needed attestation of the refugee collective as a group of displaced individuals who endlessly wander, constantly adapt to circumstances, and remain in an abiding reshaping of identities.
Direction
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Member)
C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Christian Imagery in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950).
Authorship
R.G.E.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.16.2024 17:30
Summary
Christianity is a religion that has influenced societies from the beginning of times, and fantasy is no stranger to that influence, giving way to Christian fantasy as a genre. This mode of storytelling often blends its plots with theological and spiritual motifs so as to present moral and religious lessons to its audience. This paper will analyze an overview of the genre, as well as a summarizing of C.S. Lewis and his contributions to it. It then will closely review Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to identify the way in which the author integrates Christian imagery into his fantastical narrative.
Direction
MOURON FIGUEROA, CRISTINA (Tutorships)
Court
GONZALEZ GROBA, CONSTANTE (Chairman)
ALONSO ALONSO, MARIA (Secretary)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Member)
A subversive reading of Little Women's ending: marriage, girlhood and family.
Authorship
I.C.T.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.12.2024 16:00
Summary
Since its publication, Little Women, by American author Louisa May Alcott, has been read and praised by thousands of readers around the world. Nevertheless, many voices in the field of literary theory have criticised the book due to an alleged acceptance of the sexism of the time, as shown in the ending of the March sisters, who end up abandoning their personal ambitions when they marry and form traditional families. Despite this criticism, this dissertation will try to prove that, actually, Little Women can be regarded as a feminist work where marriage is presented as a choice and where Alcott hides a rejection of the patriarchal standards of the time.
Direction
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Member)
Ambiguous Alterations: The Construction of the Female Vampire in Literature and Film
Authorship
C.M.R.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.10.2024 16:00
Summary
Embodying the fears of their time, terrifying yet captivating, vampires and other flesh-eating monsters have been at the core of many legends and literary works throughout history. Increasing in popularity in the last two centuries, these creatures have been recently subject to an intense re-evaluation, particularly in the case of the monstrous-feminine, a concept coined by feminist film theorist Barbara Creed in The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (1993) to refer to those female monsters for whom monstrosity is inextricably tied to gender. Though a patriarchal construction, this dissertation argues that there is a subversive potential to these figures, whose ambivalence challenges the patriarchal status quo that excludes them; ultimately putting into question hegemonic ontological categories themselves. To this aim, this study will analyze two different works: the 1872 novella Carmilla and the 2009 film Jennifer’s Body. Relying on gender, queer and cultural studies, this dissertation, of interdisciplinary nature, explores the changes in the representation of the female devourer throughout the years and in two different media. Though inscribed into two very different sociohistorical moments, in both works the vampire works as a destabilizing presence against the status quo. To develop these arguments, this dissertation will rely, among others, on the works of Barbara Creed regarding the monstrous feminine: The Monstrous-Feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis (1993), and Return of the Monstrous-Feminine (2022). Central to these books, and thus to this work, is the notion of abjection as developed by Julia Kristeva in Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980).
Direction
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Member)
A Study on the symbolic relationship between water, women and death in American Literature
Authorship
M.S.R.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.12.2024 19:00
Summary
Literary tradition has shown a predisposition to associate, water, femininity, and death. This is particularly reflected in the emergence of the literary motif of the drowned woman, which became particularly popular from the 19th century onwards. Stories that include this motif often depict women who choose drowning as means to end with their lives. This dissertation aims to analyse the significance of this motif, given that the literary works following this narrative theme often contain similar traits. This thesis will, therefore, focus on understanding how this motif was originated and why drowning in particular has been the preferred suicide method among female characters. In this sense, this thesis will provide a thorough analysis of the meanings conveyed behind female drowning, unveiling how it is frequently linked to notions of gender issues, particularly related to female self-agency. At the same time, one of the primary goals of this academic study is to provide a broader understanding of the symbolic connection between water, femininity, and death, with the purpose of elucidating how these elements have constantly been intertwined in literary tradition. For this purpose, Maggie, a Girl of the Streets (1893) and The Awakening (1899) have been the selected literary works that served as the base of study of this analysis. These narratives have been chosen with the aim of comprehending how water, femininity and death interact in the respective novels. Additionally, this thesis will provide a brief analysis of the portrayal of female drowning in the 2002 film adaptation of Michael Cunningham´s The Hours (1998). The appearance of this motive in Stephen Daldry’s production, released in 2002, enhances the bond between water and women and demonstrates that female drowning is a meaningful motif that is still prevalent and present in different artistic expressions.
Direction
FRA LOPEZ, PATRICIA (Tutorships)
Court
GONZALEZ GROBA, CONSTANTE (Chairman)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Secretary)
MOURON FIGUEROA, CRISTINA (Member)
Revisiting Alcott's Little Women (1868): An analysis of 20th and 21st adaptations
Authorship
A.R.O.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
09.12.2024 17:30
Summary
Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868) stands as one of the most significant and influential novels within North American Literature, despite being traditionally neglected by scholars and dismissed as a minor novel primarily addressed to female audiences. Nonetheless, the extensive academic attention this novel has eventually received from various fields, particularly Feminist Studies, has rightfully acknowledged Little Women as a complex text which explores timeless themes such as the conflict between personal ambitions and societal expectations, the transition from girlhood to womanhood, family relationships, the questioning of gender norms, and the importance of moral principles. The enduring relevance of Little Women is evident in the numerous film adaptations that the text has inspired across time, each offering a particular reinterpretation of the March sisters’ story. Considering this, the thesis will place the focus on three adapted versions of Alcott’s classical narrative, as they stand as clear reflections of the socio-cultural contexts in which they are inscribed, as well as the dominant ideologies of the time. Through the examination of three major film adaptations,Mervyn LeRoy’s (1949), Gillian Armstrong’s (1994), and Greta Gerwig’s (2019),this study ultimately aims to reveal how views on class, gender, and personal aspirations have evolved and how Little Women has maintained its relevance across generations.
Direction
FRA LOPEZ, PATRICIA (Tutorships)
Court
GONZALEZ GROBA, CONSTANTE (Chairman)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Secretary)
MOURON FIGUEROA, CRISTINA (Member)
Assembling Henry James's Stories: An Analysis of the Adaptation Process of The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)
Authorship
A.M.P.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.10.2024 12:30
Summary
Released in 2020, Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Bly Manor is a TV series based on the work of Henry James (1843-1916). However, the process that was carried out challenges the standard conventions ascribed to adaptations: instead of making use of just one source, it was created through the combination of multiple stories that ultimately converge into one original end-product. Taking this into consideration, this thesis analyses the process of adaptation of The Haunting of Bly Manor, paying attention to the ways in which the narrative structure of the series is created by the blending of different stories by Henry James, thus creating an original story that conveys part of the essence of the literary sources it adapts. To achieve this, I will first establish the theoretical foundations which are necessary for the ensuing examination of the corpus, tackling topics such as adaptation theory and the characteristics of Henry James’s writing. This literature review is, then, followed by a close analysis of the series’ narrative structure, paying attention to the ways in which the different stories are employed in this production.
Direction
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Member)
Blessed Maugham: An Analysis of British Observations of Spain
Authorship
F.A.R.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.10.2024 09:30
Summary
The popularity of travel books significantly increased in England by the end of the nineteenth century, as this century ‘brought increasing opportunities and pressures to travel’ (Thompson, 108). Although a popular genre since the times of the first explorers, such as Raleigh; travel literature became a literary success, thanks to the consolidation of the British Empire. Despite the great production of travelogues, which were also cultivated by renowned authors, most of these books have received little critical attention despite their interesting remarks. Through the analysis of the travelogue The Land of the Blessed Virgin (1905), written by British author Somerset Maugham; this dissertation aims to critically examine the British views on Spanish society, customs and history as rendered by the author; which normally oscillate between the realms of illusion and confrontation with reality. One of the main aims of this dissertation is to demonstrate that through the analysis of travel literature it is possible to study several fields of knowledge, such as history, ethnography or art; thus, a multidisciplinary approach will be the basis for this analysis. For a specific research on the subgenre of travel literature, Zygmunt Bauman’s From Pilgrim to Tourist (1998) and John Urry’s The Tourist Gaze (2002) would be useful as to explain the characteristics of the genre, how tourism became a cultural practice, the subjacent ideologies and, furthermore, as to classify the types of travellers present in this travelogue. A secondary objective of this essay would be the exploration of Somerset Maugham’s real trip through Southern Spain through the analysis of the historical references, described artworks, among other elements; in order to gather information on the historical past of Andalusia and to analyse how Spanish culture was received by British intellectuals on the country and abroad.
Direction
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Member)
Patronage, Collection and Transmission of books in female hands: Uses and Values of the Book of Hours in the late Middle Ages (14th century)
Authorship
G.C.Y.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.12.2024 09:30
Summary
As the title suggests, the subject of this paper revolves around the role of laywomen of the nobility as transmitters, patrons and collectors of books in the Middle Ages. In this sense, the book of hours responds to a type of devotional volume highly appreciated and exchanged among medieval women, due to the material, sentimental and symbolic value it acquired. Therefore, the objects of study chosen have been three books of hours that once belonged to three queens of the Évreux dynasty, very interesting in their analysis both from an artistic and dynastic point of view, since they appear framed in the production of late medieval devotionals containing the Office of St. Louis, one of the forms acquired by the family cult of the Capetian lineage and its descendants dedicated to a common ancestor, Louis IX of France.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
RODRIGUEZ PORTO, ROSA MARIA (Co-tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Deconstructing Colonial Propaganda in Prose an Analysis of Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe as a Colonial Narrative
Authorship
M.C.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.10.2024 11:00
Summary
ABSTRACT This MA Thesis undertakes a nuanced postcolonial analysis of Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe to illuminate how it functioned effectively as a propaganda tool to promote and justify the expansive British colonial project. The analysis is grounded in a comprehensive contextualization of the socio-political climate surrounding both Defoe and the novel’s publication during the apex of British imperialism. Defoe’s personal investments in prominent colonial enterprises reveal his vested interests in championing colonial economic practices through his prolific writings. Situating the novel within this dynamic historical milieu enables an elucidation of how Crusoe’s experiences on the island subtly mirror and endorse the narratives of exploration, resource extraction, and cultural supremacy driving Britain’s expanding empire worldwide. A close postcolonial reading of selected passages exposes how Crusoe upholds insidious colonial tropes and ideologies related to racial hierarchies, the perceived civilizing mission, and notions of Terra Nullius to rationalize the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous lands and peoples. Edward W. Said’s “Orientalism” and Homi Bhabha’s concepts of “mimicry” and “ambivalence” provide a framework for examining how characters like Crusoe, Friday, and Xury are shown to represent archetypal roles that naturalize colonial relations of power, with the colonizer elevated as sovereign and the native depicted as a subordinate mimic. The paper incorporates interdisciplinary perspectives on colonialism, race, and imperial propaganda to deconstruct such representations, unpacking their deeper ideological significance and dangerous social functions in normalizing oppression. By rigorously interrogating literature’s complicity in disseminating and immortalizing the very premises on which colonial empires were built, the analysis seeks to reveal hidden colonial ideologies, cultivate understanding of colonialism’s legacies, and further crucial discussions on addressing its immense intergenerational impacts.
Direction
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Member)
Greening Camelot: Ecocritical Insights into John Boorman's Excalibur (1981)
Authorship
C.F.E.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.10.2024 16:00
Summary
The enduring appeal of King Arthur and his knights spans centuries, from early Welsh poetry to the medieval literature of Chrétien de Troyes or Wolfram von Eschenbach, and later into cinema. Within Arthurian cinema, John Boorman’s Excalibur (1981) presents a story framed within a transitional period between paganism and Christianity, in which the relationships between humans and nature prove to be especially significant. This dissertation addresses the underexplored relationship between nature and culture in Arthurian Studies through an ecocritical analysis of Excalibur. As I contend, through pagan figures like Merlin, the film unveils an ecological discourse of oneness between nature and culture, challenging dichotomic thinking. At the same time, the emerging world of Christian civilization continues to reflect anthropocentric attitudes. Thus, the primary aim of this dissertation is to examine how the film constructs the culture-nature relationship with the aid of an ecocritical framework that argues that “human culture is connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it” (Glotfelty and Fromm xix). Moreover, given the relevance of paganism and Christianity, the study will also include insights from spiritual ecology to examine the pagan notion of oneness with nature as well as the Christian principles of morality and self-restraint. This spiritual approach seeks to assess how Excalibur resonates with contemporary discussions in spiritual ecology which posit that a spiritual awakening precedes ecological awakening. In addition, a secondary objective will be to address the connections that the film establishes between women and nature. To achieve this, an ecofeminist framework will be employed, offering valuable insights into the portrayal of characters such as Igrayne and the Lady of the Lake.
Direction
MOURON FIGUEROA, CRISTINA (Tutorships)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Co-tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Chairman)
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Secretary)
FRA LOPEZ, PATRICIA (Member)
The Villain Archetype across Modern Media: the Case of Hades
Authorship
L.P.G.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.10.2024 18:00
Summary
Mythological and folkloric beliefs have been part of human culture for millennia, surviving the passage of time through oral tradition and, more recently, retellings and reimaginings. Thanks to social media, Greek mythology has become one of the most widespread ancient belief systems of contemporary popular culture, inspiring creators to delve into these stories and contribute to their legacy. While contemporary reimaginings of Greek mythology tend to preserve the essence of the original mythos, they sometimes differ from the canon source material. This is the case of Hades, the Greek god of the dead whose portrayal in the past decades has shifted from altruistic and pliable to ruthless and, in most cases, evil. Therefore, the main aim of this dissertation is to develop a transmedial analysis of the portrayal of Hades as a villain across three types of media of North American production: Disney’s animated movie Hercules (1997), Rick Riordan’s pentalogy of urban fantasy novels Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2005-2009) and Supergiant Games’ rogue-like Hades (2020). Both Hades’ physical and psychological traits will be examined and contrasted in order to find similarities and differences between the three examples at hand. This process will be carried out taking into account both the mythological lore of the deity as well as the techniques utilized to vilify him in the media. To achieve the goal of the dissertation, a thorough reading of specialized bibliography regarding matters of transmedia studies and character theory will be carried out, making sure to compile a reliable corpus that will back up the analysis accordingly. Additionally, queer theory will be utilized to further enrich certain aspects of the analysis that the main theoretical fields might not be able to cover.
Direction
MOURON FIGUEROA, CRISTINA (Tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
FRA LOPEZ, PATRICIA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Member)
‘‘She has always been there, my darling’’: The Wife, The Other Woman, and Affective Triangles in Twentieth-Century Literature in English by Women
Authorship
L.R.T.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.09.2024 11:00
Summary
The characters of the wife and the other woman have coexisted throughout history as many English literary manifestations have used this trope to further develop their plots. The Victorian novel, most notably, has employed this device in many instances, such as in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847) or Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847). Nevertheless, the other woman never coincides spatially and/or timewise with the wife. Through narratological practices and processes of antagonisation, Nineteenth-century female writers justified the transformation of the mistress into the second wife and the absence of the wife. In Twentieth-century English literature, the interaction between these female characters is openly displayed, thus, these texts explore the nuanced nature of female bonds through the relationship of wives and mistresses. As a result, this innovation signified a change in the way literature portrays female bonds and female characters. Although affective triangles are a recurrent motif in fiction, there is an evident lack of research on the topic from a gender perspective that could allow scholars to examine the relationship between these two women in terms of sisterhood or female rivalry. The present thesis aims to demonstrate how the evolution of the feminist movement influenced the renditions of affective triangles in literature. To successfully craft this analysis, the study will consider the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s ‘‘Turned’’ (1911), Katherine Mansfield’s ‘‘Bliss’’ (1918), Sylvia Plath’s ‘‘The Rival’’ (1962), and Anne Sexton’s ‘‘For My Lover, Returning to His Wife’’ (1968). This literary corpus will elaborate a comparative study, focusing on the characterisation of wives, mistresses, and their relationships.
Direction
ESTEVEZ SAA, MARGARITA (Tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Chairman)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Secretary)
SACIDO ROMERO, JORGE (Member)
#asianmom. Trauma, Cultural Conflict and Motherhood in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club
Authorship
R.T.G.
Master in Advanced English Studies and its Applications
Defense date
07.09.2024 09:30
Summary
Ever since the ‘boom’ of Asian American literature took place during the 1960s and 1970s in the United States, there has been an increasing amount of works dealing with the configuration of motherhood in this community and with how maternal-filial relationships are often affected by the cultural dynamics of the diaspora space - Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts (1976) and Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club (1989) are remarkable examples. This question has gained new impetus in the twenty-first century, not only as a result of the success enjoyed by publications such Amy Chua’s 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - where the author explores the harsh and fierce model of parenting enforced by many Asian American mothers in order to create high-achieving children, at times projecting onto them the characteristic (albeit not always fulfilled) ambitions of the diasporic subject - but also due to the increasing attention this issue has received in social media apps such as TikTok, where multiple voices have converged around the hashtag #asianmon featuring in the title of this dissertation. Departing from these considerations, this study seeks to explore the intricate mother-daughter dyad in Amy Tam’s 1989 seminal novel The Joy Luck Club. In doing so, this master’s thesis aims to explore the manners in which cultural conflicts hinging on the dynamics of life in the diaspora play a central role in the shaping of maternal-filial relationships within Asian American families. Attention will be paid as well to the disruptive effects that the trauma associated with migration has upon the mother-daughter bond as depicted in this novel. Given that the focus is placed upon a novel published in the 1980s, this dissertation also discusses Amy Chua’s memoir to illustrate the contemporary discourse on “tiger parenting” and its reinforcement of the model minority stereotype, further complicating the diasporic mothering experience. In order to accomplish these objectives, and methodologically speaking, this master’s thesis will rely on general notions on the diaspora as discussed by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin, among others. Critical works dealing with motherhood and the mothering experience will also be relevant - such as Adrienne Rich’s Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1976) - as well as works discussing motherhood in the Asian American diasporic context - Silvia Schultermandl’s Transnational Matrilineage: Mother Daughter Conflicts in Asian American Literature (2009), for instance. Additionally, this dissertation will implement notions related to trauma studies drawn from the works of Michelle Balaev and Cathy Caruth.
Direction
LOJO RODRIGUEZ, LAURA MARIA (Tutorships)
Pereira Ares, Noemí (Co-tutorships)
Court
Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos (Coordinator)
PALACIOS GONZALEZ, MANUELA (Chairman)
ALONSO ALONSO, MARIA (Secretary)
JIMENEZ PLACER, SUSANA MARIA (Member)
Edition and glossary of the documentation in Galician from the 13th century of the monastery of San Xoán de Poio.
Authorship
D.C.D.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.12.2024 09:30
Summary
The publication of the Galician medieval sources using philological criteria still represents a task that requires further investigation into the field of Galician medievalism, with large gaps to be filled in geographical terms. Along these lines, this work will approach the documentary production linked to the monastery of San Xoán de Poio, a male community of the Benedictine order based in the area of the Pontevedra estuary and on which documentation linked to the southern area of the Compostela mitre is preserved. Thus, in addition to the logical geographical, ecclesiastical and linguistic contextualisation of the space that produces this documentation, the textual corpus in Galician from the 13th century will be selected, proceeding to make the corresponding palaeographic transcriptions and critical presentations of the documents. In addition, with the aim of providing a tool for knowledge and research into the fossilised linguistic uses in the analysed set, a linguistic glossary will be created. This work, which is a first step towards further research within the framework of a future doctoral project, is part of the Escritorio Galego-Portuguese Antigo (EGPA), an open and collaborative digital multi-edition platform, in which part of the results are integrated.
Direction
SOUTO CABO, JOSÉ ANTÓNIO (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The Holy War of the body. Religius anorexia and other eating disorders during Middle Age.
Authorship
A.H.V.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.12.2024 09:30
Summary
This work is a small investigation through the relationships that existed in the Middle Ages between eating disorders and the Catholic religion mainly. Thanks to figures such as Catherine of Siena, Saint Rose of Lima or Saint Wilgerfortis, we can see these peculiar behaviors related to eating and self-harm clearly exemplified. A work with several aspects related to the conception of the body in the Middle Ages, the sin and its influence on the society from that time, the relation between food and the class in which one was born or the influence of religion on citizens. . In addition to all this, special treatment will be given to topics such as pain, suffering, rebellion and the control of the most human and primitive desires to achieve glory and eternal blessing.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
“Acceptau la excellencia de la dignitat maternal” Study of motherhood in the Vita Christi by Sor Isabel de Villena.
Authorship
M.M.M.G.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.12.2024 09:30
Summary
The study of medieval motherhood over the past decades has included literary and iconographic works, both religious and secular, among the documents of interest. Such study often takes a broad perspective, encompassing both spiritual and theological approaches as well as concrete and material ones. Both approaches are considered in this work, which aims to analyze the notion of motherhood present in the Vita Christi by Sor Isabel de Villena. The nature of motherhood in the Vita is influenced by the specific contextual reality that surrounds it, framed within the affective spiritual tradition, including diverse and varied aspects in its chapters through the characters and scenes that compose them. These aspects will be thoroughly examined in this work, with the aim of understanding the meaning, characteristics, and functions that part of medieval society attributed to motherhood, both in the religious and secular spheres.
Direction
RODRIGUEZ PORTO, ROSA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Between Germanism and the heritage of Romanization. The political construction of Anglo-Saxon England between the 6th and 9th centuries
Authorship
J.J.P.Y.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.12.2024 12:30
Summary
The purpose of this work will be to examine and define the construction processes at the political level of Anglo-Saxon England. To do this, we will mark our research in two key moments: between the 6th and 8th centuries; and the 9th century. The first of them is characterized both by the arrival of the non-Romanized Germans to Britain after their abandonment by Rome, and by the way in which the largest kingdoms are progressively built as well as the changes carried out by Offa, going beyond the figure of temporary domination of the Bretwalda. In the second period we will examine the way in which changes are made from Wessex in order to establish the royal house through new defensive systems and a patrimonialization of the kingdom, along with an invasion by the Scandinavians that led to the arrival of a new idea about the territory with more identity. From all this we will define as a fundamental characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon political construction in Britain the continuous struggle between the strong Germanism that both Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians carried and the romanitas that remained on the island and that the Church brought back. A conflict that also has an impact on society on issues such as honour or the compilation of laws.
Direction
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The myth of the mandrake. Magic and medicina in the Middle Ages.
Authorship
N.R.S.R.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.13.2024 09:30
Summary
The mandrake plant, native to the Mediterranean region, has been the subject of numerous medical studies and countless legendary beliefs due to its alkaloid properties and the humanoid shape of its root. Known for its hallucinogenic used as a talisman to attract love or to be protected against the evil eye since ancient times. In this study, we will examinate the ethnobotanical significance of the mandrake in medieval western Europe through etymology and various botanical and medical text of the period.
Direction
RODRIGUEZ PORTO, ROSA MARIA (Tutorships)
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Co-tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Comparative analysis of Eastern and Western feudal societies from the 9th to the 13th centuries
Authorship
J.T.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.13.2024 09:30
Summary
The 9th to 13th centuries of the Middle Ages were a critical period for the development of feudal societies in Europe and the East (mainly China and Japan). During this period, the feudal system was perfected and stabilized, forming distinctive social and cultural structures. This paper aims to reveal the similarities and differences in the social structure, social life, and ideological culture of medieval Europe and the East (China and Japan) from the 9th to the 13th centuries, and to explore the profound impact of these differences on contemporary society. The reason for choosing the 9th to the 13th centuries as the research period is that during this period the feudal system reached a high degree of maturity and stability in Europe and the East. During this period, the European feudal system was consolidated. At the same time, China and Japan in the East also experienced the formation and development of feudal social structures. The feudal system of this period not only shaped the political and economic structure of society at that time, but also affected the culture and ideological system of society.
Direction
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Research on Pilgrimage in Late Medieval Spain
Authorship
Y.Q.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
09.13.2024 09:30
Summary
In the late Middle Ages, religion was not only the center and core of social life, but also an important driving force for cultural, economic, and even political activities. Spain, as an important country in Europe during this period, had a complex religious environment and was deeply influenced by Catholic doctrine, local customs, and external cultural exchanges. Pilgrimage, as an important form of medieval religious practice, not only reflects the devout pursuit of sacred goals by believers, but also profoundly reflects the cultural concepts, economic structures, and so on of the society at that time. This article aims to explore in depth the pilgrimage activities in late medieval Spain, by analyzing its religious environment, the development of pilgrimage
Direction
BARRAL RIVADULLA, Mª DOLORES (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The writing of history in the Najerense Chronicle
Authorship
R.C.D.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 09:00
Summary
In the present work, we will mainly analyse the writing of past in the Najerense Chronicle. This was written in the second middle of the 12th century by a member of the Cluny community of Saint Mary the Real of Nájera, or by somebody related to this, and it tells a kind of universal history from the Creation to the reign of Alfonso VI. With the purpose of making this task, we will focus on the political context of the Chronicle, as well as on the cultural one, so we will watch this aspect in the monasteries. According to this, it is worth highlighting that we will analyse both the authority and the text itself, from a historical point of view.
Direction
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Building the feminine city: the self-representation through Christine de Pizán.
Authorship
C.C.G.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 09:00
Summary
In this essay we approach the early examples of female self-representation in medieval european art, specifically through the work of Christine de Pizán contrasted with her contemporaries productions. We will achieve that by analyzing Christine's modes of representation as an author and intellectual figure, while also emphasizing the intricate framework necessary to gain control over the production of her works. Furthermore, we seek to understand that the author's self-representation aims at objectives related to self-legitimization and the construction of a literary identity and authority within the royal court, a culturally vital focus in the medieval period. Lastly, as her actions resonate with ideals we now identify as feminist, we will also discuss their impact in the past century.
Direction
RODRIGUEZ PORTO, ROSA MARIA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The Medieval Inquisition, the origins of the aegis of orthodoxy.
Authorship
J.G.P.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 09:00
Summary
In this Master's Dissertation, we propose an approach to the origins of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages, addressing the evolution of the fight against heresy and the significant role of the Albigensian Crusade as a catalyst for the crystallization of this institution, we will use sources such as the Canso de la Cruzada and the Chronica. Through selected inquisitor´s manuals, we can reflect on the construction of inquisitorial praxis from its beginnings, aiming to establish a narrative about the evolutionary process experienced from the 13th to the 14th century. Additionally, we will reconstruct the image of the authors of these manuals as pioneers in their discipline.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Similarities and differences between medieval European women and women of the Yuan dynasty
Authorship
M.L.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 16:30
Summary
This study aims to explore the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western women in the Middle Ages through the study of relevant documents and the comparison and analysis of Chinese and Western history during this period, from the perspective of the political influence of women, family life, Women's status and women's religious culture By comparing the life and other aspects of Chinese and Western women, it was found that although they belong to two different social backgrounds, the attitudes of women in a male-dominated social environment are very similar. Women are a marginalized group, not valued by society and do not have the right to receive education. This result shows that if women want to be treated fairly, they need to have the same access to education as men. Knowledge is an important prerequisite for women to gain the power to participate in socio-economic and political affairs. Only by participating in the designation of social rules will it be possible for women to earn the respect of society. At the same time, society as a whole should take the role of women seriously, confront and recognize their value.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Spreading the Divine Word. An approach to the Christianisation of Kievan Rus' and the extension of Christianity among its population. 10th-13th centuries.
Authorship
C.D.L.U.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 12:00
Summary
The Christianisation of the Eastern Slavs was a historical process of great importance for the future of the territories that were part of Kievan Rus', as it gave them a new religious, political, cultural and territorial identity. The conversion of these territories has not been widely discussed in peninsular historiography, and this study will therefore attempt to explore this issue in greater depth. An analysis will be made of the classical route used to explain the Christianisation of the territory of Rus' through its institutional conversion. It will also attempt to approach the advance of Christianity among the majority of the population of Rus', an issue that is not often dealt with in historiography, but which in reality represents a continuation of the historical process that is usually brought to an end in 988-989.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Santa Mariña de Augas Santas: devotion through art
Authorship
M.L.R.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 12:00
Summary
Santa Mariña de Augas Santas became a place of worship and devotion that continues today. The writings about her life, her martyrdom and all the traces she left in the area, made it a place of pilgrimage for all the devotees searching for mercy and help with their maladies. In this way, the oven of the saint, the protagonist of her martyrdom, became a place of worship and was remodelled at various times. After that, the Basilica of the Ascension was built on the upper part, as a place of veneration. This building was left unfinished and the Romanesque church of Santa Mariña de Augas Santas was built nearby at the end of the 12th century. As a result of these buildings and the following writing of the saint's life, her devotion grew and was even reflected in other parts of the Peninsula, although it was mostly relegated to a local sphere.
Direction
CENDON FERNANDEZ, MARTA (Tutorships)
CHAO CASTRO, DAVID (Co-tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
A model for the king. An analysis of the construction of Castilian royal masculinities in the late Middle Ages.
Authorship
J.M.G.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 12:00
Summary
This work introduces the study of masculinities and aims to interconnect three aspects of the medieval world, history, art, and literature. It delves into the construction of various Castilian royal masculinities during the late medieval period, as depicted in different chronicles. The study explores the Castilian royal masculine model presented in works such as Alfonso X's Partidas and Sancho IV's Castigos, examining the relationship between these standards and the moralising images of the most Christian king and the most virtuous king. By starting from established parameters, the goal is to provide a coherent explanation for the ideal or contrasting images of six Castilian sovereigns from the Late Middle Ages. This analysis offers a fresh interpretation of their masculinities through a new reading of the chronicles.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
From the organistrum to the hurdy-gurdy
Authorship
P.R.V.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 12:00
Summary
The beginning of a model creation for musical instruments building, i. e., a school, begin to form in the Midde Ages, iniciating its way to consolidate, a target that wasn’t achieved until the 19th century, and enjoyed its best years during the 20th century. The hurdy-gurdy, derivated from organistrum, is the best example of this specialization of work on the viol makers guild and marked the arrival to the peak of medieval lutherie as a remarkable complex instrument. The organistrum, and later hurdy-gurdy, value on medieval music chapels preserved the instrument as a prominent element on the temples, until its replace by the new instruments and by the influence of new musical forms, becoming the favorite tool of troubadours and ministrels, loosing its sacral nature, the principal reason of its decay and its unconsolidated disappearance, stopped by Faustino Santalices, a folklorist from Bande (Ourense), and Perfecto Feijoo, an apothecary from Pontevedra. The absence of preserved original samples makes art representations, paint and sculpture, the best evidence of the instrument evolution and the luthier office in Middle Ages, as well as the best reference for theorical reconstructions.
Direction
CENDON FERNANDEZ, MARTA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Feminine Spaces in Late Medieval Cities of the Peninsular Hispanic Kingdoms: work and family. The example of Bilbao and Zaragoza
Authorship
C.R.G.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 16:30
Summary
During the late medieval period of the peninsular Hispanic kingdoms, three types of feminine spaces can be distinguished: public, private, and the space of sociability. This essay will explain the activities and the role of women related to these spaces while describing the limits of these locations, which, at the same time, are created based on these activities. The investigation will show the function of feminine roles and their essential participation in society during the period. Primary sources are consulted for the practical approach in two of the most relevant cities of the delimited area, Bilbao and Zaragoza.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Saint Bartholomew: hagiography and visual culture in the peninsular Middle Ages
Authorship
S.T.G.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 16:30
Summary
Through the hagiography of Saint Bartholomew, his martyrdom and the attributes that characterize him are observed. Much of its iconography is reflected in the pictorial field, mostly in various parts of religious buildings such as altarpieces or tympanums, but also sculptural representations, especially in funerary complexes. The majority of the iconographic repertoire of Saint Bartholomew, preserved in the Iberian Peninsula, is found in various regions of the Mediterranean closest to the arrival of the Trecentista and international Gothic currents, however, a key example in the hagiographic development is the tomb of Don Pedro I who, together with that of his wife Doña Inés de Castro, are in the monastery of Alcobaça in Portugal. In Castile, the spread of the image of the saint is due to various sculptors, mostly anonymous, who show a French Gothic style.
Direction
CENDON FERNANDEZ, MARTA (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The mirror of simple souls by Marguerite Porete. Theology and perfection in a 13th century mystical treatise.
Authorship
U.T.R.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 09:00
Summary
This paper focuses on the study of the 13th century mystical treatise The Mirror of Simple Souls by Marguerite Porete with the aim of analysing the meaning of the elements of perfection within the work itself. We will approach the text that has come down to us through the study of the contexts, the authorial question, the influences and the eschatology and ideas of perfection that can be found in its scriptural postulates.
Direction
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
The intertextuality of Germanic Heroic traditions in Beowulf: form and meaning
Authorship
J.T.D.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 16:30
Summary
Beowulf contains many intertextual references to characters and stories from the heroic tradition of the Germanic world. These references have been studied concerning the similarities and differences presented throughout the many testimonies they are told. However, their study regarding their occurrences and their function in the poem must be explored. The episodes of Sigemund, Finnsburg, and Ingeld arise as perfect examples of the pagan world’s morality which, when contrasted with Beowulf’s attitude, show many differences. On the other hand, the mention of the Scyldings could work as a constructed location for the invention of Beowulf as a Christian hero.
Direction
GONZALEZ MIRANDA, EMILIO (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Midwives and materhood in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages (12th-15th century).
Authorship
A.C.S.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 19:15
Summary
The proposed work will develop an interdisciplinary study focused on the figure of the midwife and the functions related to motherhood in the medieval Iberian between the 12th and 15th centuries. It differentiates the practical forms of the midwife’s profession and its functions, as well as the medical knowledge related to, and its care in both Christian and Andalusian territories. The attitude of women towards childbirth and the development of the moment of giving birth itself will also be treated, dealing with both the care function and the differences between births of the royal class, those of noble ladies and the births of ordinary women.
Direction
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
BERMUDEZ BELOSO, MARIÑA (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Comparative Study of the Clothing Culture of the European Middle Ages and the Song Dynasty in China
Authorship
Y.Q.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
07.09.2024 19:15
Summary
This study has been carried out to explore the dress cultures of medieval Europe and Song Dynasty China. By comparing and analyzing the characteristics of dresses from both periods, the study reflects the connection between dress and factors such as social structure, religion, culture and fashion in different cultural contexts. The study concludes that, although there are geographical and cultural differences between medieval Europe and Song dynasty China, there are some similarities in the evolution of clothing between the two. There are similarities in clothing and expression between both cultures. This study not only allows us to understand two different cultures, but also allows us to have a better and more intuitive view of the culture and social history of medieval European clothing through comparison.
Direction
BARRAL RIVADULLA, Mª DOLORES (Tutorships)
Court
SANMARTÍN BARROS, ISRAEL (Coordinator)
MILLET SCHRÖDER, VICTOR (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Member)
Beyond the erotic Romanesque: an analytical look at traditional narratives
Authorship
M.L.L.M.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
02.15.2024 10:00
Summary
Since the establishment of the concept of sin, sexuality has held a prominent place among the evils that corrupted the morality of the devout Christian. Ecclesiastical and civil authorities sought to regulate the sexual lives of men and women in the medieval period. All of this was reflected not only in written sources but also in art, which produced representations such as the wrongly labelled erotic Romanesque to demonstrate the attitudes of people towards sex and the body, often beyond the moral norms considered correct. Thus, a series of iconographic models were established, disseminated through routes like the Camino de Santiago, becoming a showcase of a particular vision, many nuances of which elude the current view and mindset. The hegemonic academic discourse, rooted in the moralistic interpretations of 19th-century historians, has imposed a unidirectional view on sin, sex, punishment, and attitudes towards them. However, what if, by basing everything on that perception, other possible motivations or meanings for such representations are being overlooked? This work aims to go beyond these pre-established analyses, attempting to propose alternative perspectives on the interpretation of representations of sexuality in the Middle Ages.
Direction
BARRAL RIVADULLA, Mª DOLORES (Tutorships)
Court
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, DEBORA (Member)
The royal concubinage as a model of monastic foundation in the Crowns of León and Castile: 11th-13th centuries
Authorship
L.R.R.
Master in European Medieval Studies: Images, Texts and Contexts
Defense date
02.15.2024 10:00
Summary
The research presented is an analysis of a foundations series of monastic centres built between the 11th and 13th centuries by royal concubines of the monarchs of the Crowns of León and Castile. Royal concubinage in this period had specific features that justify these personal works led by women of the nobility after putting an end to relationships outside canonical marriage. The four monastic centres selected for the study are a manifestation of the presence of these concubines in the public space as a counterpart to the documentary concealment of sources such as the chronicles. Nevertheless, concubines were significant political agents as mothers of dynastic members and mediators in local politics. Their role as foundresses fitted in with the models of female spirituality of the nobility, being in charge of preserving the memory of their lineages, but also of personal promotion in the face of the pejorative connotations that their condition often had.
Direction
PELAZ FLORES, DIANA (Tutorships)
Court
FRAGA SAMPEDRO, MARIA DOLORES (Chairman)
SANCHEZ SANCHEZ, XOSE MANOEL (Secretary)
GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, DEBORA (Member)
History and memory of the Second World War in Dora Bruder de Patrick Modiano and Le rapport de Brodeck by Philippe Claudel.
Authorship
M.T.B.D.L.P.C.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 11:30
Summary
This Master's Thesis will investigate how the historical events and memory of the Second World War are represented in the literature of the second and third generation of authors after the Holocaust. For this, the novels Dora Bruder (1997) by Patrick Modiano, Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 2014, and Le rapport de Brodeck (2007) by Philippe Claudel have been chosen as the object of study. Thus, the main objective of this research is to answer, through the analysis of the two works, the question of why French authors continue to write about the Occupation, the Second World War and the Holocaust today.
Direction
GARCIA MARTINEZ, MANUEL (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
Dancing (on) the limits of the visible. About the concept of the «Double Vision» by Olga Mesa
Authorship
M.C.V.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 12:15
Summary
Olga Mesa, between dance, audiovisual and performance, has developed since her first forays into the living arts an intense and prolific career of a transgressive nature, polemicizing with the limits imposed on scenic creation. In this sense, Olga Mesa traces in her pieces a writing of the body that, subverting Western metaphysics, puts into play what we could call an ontology of the double: an embodied reflection that plays in the folds of (re)presentation, diluting the borders between the visible and the invisible, the present and the absent, and whose vehicle is a double vision that casts its shadow across the luminosity of Reason. In the following work, what we propose is to shed some light on the concept that underpins Olga Mesa's work, the notion of «Double Vision», using for this task the contributions of some of the greatest exponents of contemporary thought.
Direction
ABUIN GONZALEZ, ANGEL EUGENIO (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
Manuela Cambronero, a forgotten romantic: edition and study of Safira and Días de convalecencia
Authorship
I.I.S.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 13:00
Summary
The main objective of this project is to offer a modern edition of Manuela Cambronero's two main works, the drama entitled Safira (1842) and Días de convalecencia (1852), since they can only be consulted from their first editions and it is essential to provide a revised text to serve as a starting point for any literary analysis. In the case of the poems and novels of Días de convalecencia that present more than one testimony, this will be selected as the base text, because it is the last one supervised by the author. Since only one printed testimony of Safira is preserved, only the text will be modernized, except in cases that contravene Cambronero's usus scribendi. This proposed edition will offer a negative critical apparatus, which will not take into account the punctuation variants, as well as a section of philological annotation to solve any literary or linguistic question. As for the study, it will summarize both Cambronero's biographical polemic and her literary context and will offer a list of all the the writer's works I have located. Likewise, a section will be devoted to the analysis of Safira, the selection of poems and the two short novels of Días de convalecencia.
Direction
PEREZ-ABADIN BARRO, MARIA SOLEDAD (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
“Loa para el día del nombre de la Reina nuestra señora”: study and edition.
Authorship
S.Z.M.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 13:45
Summary
The objective of this work is the edition and study of a short theatrical text from the 17th century written as a precedent or 'loa' of a comedy performed in the Madrid Court at the end of the 17th century. The text is preserved in a manuscript from the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan with symbol 26.III.8; It seems the only testimony of the theatrical text and presents the names of the actresses who represented it at the time. Thus, in this investigation it will be possible to reconstruct the company that staged this 'loa', and an effort will be made to reveal, as far as possible, the data related to the specific date of the performance, the authorship and the queen to whom it was dedicated. In this way, it will be possible to reconstruct and understand the context of the theatrical festival in which it was represented. To achieve these purposes, we offer an introductory study of the 'loa' and a proposal of a critical edition.
Direction
ULLA LORENZO, ALEJANDRA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
FERNANDEZ MOSQUERA, SANTIAGO (Chairman)
NOGUEIRA PEREIRA, MARIA XESUS (Secretary)
VILAVEDRA FERNANDEZ, DOLORES (Member)
From Liquid Modernity to Performance Society: A Bauman and Han's Exploration in the Digital Context.
Authorship
A.D.P.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 11:10
Summary
In a society marked by the rapid growth of technology and the presence of digital communication, new consumption dynamics emerge that transform and program human behavior. Therefore, it seems important to address the construction of interpersonal relationships in an accelerated community that enables a wide range of subjectivities. Thus, this project will adopt a dialogical approach between two different theories; that of the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and that of the philosopher Byung Chul Han. Both intellectuals debate about a community that is built halfway between volatility and the existence of individual freedom. Therefore, the intention is to observe technological development and its potentialities through the different terms they propose. In this way, it will seek to understand the different modes of consumption, behavior, and human actions in a digital world that interferes with the reality of the human being.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Secretary)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Member)
Multimedia poetry of online dissemination. Theoretical and through contemporary corpus approach (2019-2024)
Authorship
R.F.A.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 12:00
Summary
The present work revolves around multimedia poetry of online dissemination, a type of poetry that, conveyed mainly through social networks such as TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, hybridizes image, sound and/or video with poetic text. Taking into account the lack of specialized bibliography and the magnitude of the phenomenon, it is intended, on the one hand, to theoretically contextualize and establish a formal classification and clear definitions regarding this type of digital poetry and its subtypes; and on the other hand, compile and present a corpus or a selection of online multimedia poems published in the last five years (2019-2024) mostly in English, but also in Galician, Spanish and other Iberian languages. The selection has as initial objectives to expose and preserve this category of artistic compositions; It would also function as a useful basis for any related research.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Secretary)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Member)
Master Dissertation
Authorship
C.L.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 12:50
Summary
Camus is recognised as an existentialist novelist and also as a representative of the absurd. Yu Hua, too, embodies a strong existentialism and absurdism in his works. The novels of both focus on the detailed portrayal of marginal characters, both representing China and France in the 20th century. This paper will analyse the similarities and differences between the stories of the two authors in terms of characterisation, the influence of the setting on the inner destiny and character of the characters, and the development of the plot. As for the corpus, I have chosen three groups of works to contrast: Vivir (1993) by Yu Hua and El Extranjero (1942) by Camus; secondly, Chronicle of Blood Merchant (1995) and La peste (1947). The TFM, through its extensive comparative study of the extensive comparative study of the literature to conclude that Chinese and European existentialism and absurdism, and attempts to analyse the deep coherence between the two in an integrated way.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Secretary)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Member)
Narration in contemporary indie videogames (2013-2021)
Authorship
M.T.C.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 16:20
Summary
The purpose of this Master's Thesis is to approach the main narrative strategies of the independent video game, a field that has experienced remarkable development throughout the 2010s. After examining the constitution of the artistic field of video games and its two subfields of production (Triple AAA and indie), inspired by Bourdieu's model of the literary field, a typology of their dynamics is established to examine processes of transference or dialogue between the subfields, challenging the classical conception of these areas as separate compartments. After presenting the artistic field of video games, the main procedures of Triple AAA works are analyzed, characterized by a progressive approach to the film model. In contrast to this dynamic are the narrative strategies of indie video games, whose approaches to postmodern cinema and concepts such as metalepsis, metanarration, or metafiction are key elements to understanding the constitution of a model that aims to challenge the conventions of what has traditionally been considered to constitute video game narration.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Secretary)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Member)
Comparative Anlysis of Narritive in Videogame Field
Authorship
J.Z.
Master in Literary and Culture Studies
Defense date
07.15.2024 17:10
Summary
This study explores the evolution of video games from simple entertainment to complex, immersive experiences that rival literature and cinema. The study provides a comprehensive contextualization of video games, covering their definition, industry evolution, cultural impact, and genre diversity. It delves into the narrative aspects of video games, examining emergent narrative elements and common structures such as pre-established, discovery, sandbox, and computer-generated narratives. Through a comparative analysis of two iconic games, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt and The Last of Us, the thesis highlights the narrative techniques used and demonstrates the potential of video games to deliver complex and emotionally resonant stories. The conclusion synthesizes the findings, underscoring the cultural and artistic significance of video games as a medium in constant transformation.
Direction
VILARIÑO PICOS, MARIA TERESA (Tutorships)
Court
DOMINGUEZ PRIETO, CESAR PABLO (Coordinator)
MONTEAGUDO ROMERO, XOSE HENRIQUE (Chairman)
VILLARINO PARDO, Ma DEL CARMEN (Secretary)
RODRIGUEZ PRADO, MARIA FELISA (Member)