Epic, counter-Epic, and anti-utopia: theoretical deepenings of the thesis Echoes of Os Lusíadas in the ruins of the empire

• Grant number: 25/15592-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Other Vernacular Literatures
• Principal Investigator: Marcia Maria de Arruda Franco
• Grantee: Larissa Fonseca e Silva
• Supervisor: Helena Etelvina de Lemos Carvalhao Buescu
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 25/01177-9 - Echoes of Os Lusíadas in the Ruins of Empire: Anti-Epic in Novels by Contemporary Portuguese Women Writers, BP.DR

Abstract

This international research internship is part of the doctoral thesis Echoes of Os Lusíadas in the ruins of empire: anti-epic in novels by contemporary portuguese women writers, which examines how seven novels published after 2000 - O Tibete de África (Margarida Paredes), O retorno and Eliete (Dulce Maria Cardoso), Os memoráveis (Lídia Jorge), A gorda (Isabela Figueiredo), Luanda, Lisboa, Paraíso (Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida) and Essa dama bate bué! (Yara Nakahanda Monteiro) - engage in dialogue with Os Lusíadas in the context of the post-Carnation Revolution (1974). These works deconstruct the heroic imagery of the Portuguese imperial project and reframe it through the lens of women and historically marginalized subjects. The internship in Lisbon will enable a deeper theoretical discussion of the concept of "anti-epic," in dialogue with the notion of "counter-epic," as well as a critical examination of the categories of "utopia" and "anti-utopia" in Portuguese literature. This research will consolidate the thesis's theoretical framework and support the writing of its fourth chapter. (AU)