English Studies: Culture (RG 2)

English Studies: Culture (RG 2)

Principal Investigators: Adelaide Meira Serras and Ana Patrícia Rodrigues

Number of researchers: 23 - Integrated members (with PhD): 12 / PhD students: 3 / Other researchers: 7

Research Group 2 specialises in English Culture Studies with an emphasis on a cultural approach developed in the Department of English of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon during the last two decades of the 20th century. From 2000 onwards, the team never lost sight of a broad concept of culture studies, associated with the relationship between literary research and the history of ideas, in the context of social and intellectual history, and it has kept permanent track of new directions including cultural studies, as an interdisciplinary field. In addition, emphasis has been laid on a methodical exploration of philosophical and educational paradigms, mainly in the modern and contemporary periods. It has produced new results in the study of English culture, by working on essays, prose fiction, poetry and the visual arts, and by bringing together the specialised interests of each researcher into a common project.

The interdisciplinary character of “Culture Studies” favours a variety of approaches and a wide choice of subject matters. RG2 researchers develop individual research and collective projects, thereby enriching the research group. Three main lines of research are currently in progress and will continue to operate in the following years:

- Victorians Like Us – focus on Victorianism and Neo-Victorianism. It also encompasses the former project on the British Empire and post-colonialism approaches;
- The Street and the City – focus on urban studies, including urban memories and other fields of interest in relation to cities, their space, their cultures and their literary and visual representations;
- Trends and Culture Management – focus on cultural analysis applied both to the mapping of social and cultural changes and to the identification of strategic social guidelines. It aims to impact on the cultural, entrepreneurial and political level.