About the Postgraduate in Language Sciences Program

• Program History

  Portuguese and Modern Foreign Languages higher education courses began in Tubarão (SC) with the establishment of the Language and Literature Course of Southern Santa Catarina (FESSC) Educational Foundation in 1971. With the set up of the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) in 1989, in the mid-1990s a stricto sensu course in Linguistics and Literature was set up that culminated in the formalization of a project prepared by the course’s congregation in 1998.

  The result of this effort was the approval of the “Master’s Degree Course in Language Sciences” on December 2, 1998 through Resolution 28/98 of the University Management Chamber. The Santa Catarina State Council of Education (CEE-SC), to which the University’s graduate program was connected to at that time, ratified the Course administration on July 13, 1999 through Resolution 176/99.

  On July 15, 1999, the first class began its course at the Tubarão campus; two majors were offered: “Theory and Analysis of Languages” and “Applied Linguistics in Education”. In 2001, the M.A. Course in Language Sciences was expanded to the Greater Florianópolis Campus in Palhoça (SC), offering a third major in Social Communication called “Language and Information Technology” (Opinion CEDS No. 114, dated November 7, 2000).

  In 2002, the M.A. Course in Language Sciences was assessed by the Verification Committee of the Santa Catarina State Council of Education (CEE-SC) composed by Professors Osmar de Souza (FURB/UNIVALI) and Loni Grimm-Cabral (UFSC). The Course was certified in a plenary session of the State Council of Education on July 9, 2002 (Decree 5458, dated July 29, 2002, published in the Official Gazette of the State of Santa Catarina on July 30, 2002).

  In the same year, in compliance with the institutional decision, the Master’s Course in Language Sciences was attached to the National Post-Graduate System (SNPG/CAPES). As a result of this process, a single major was offered, “Language, Media and Discourse Processes”, and three research lines, “Semantic Discourse Analysis”, “Texts and Discourse Practices” and “Language, Culture and Media”.

  The project was evaluated in loco by a CAPES Assessment Committee formed by Professors Sírio Possenti (UNICAMP) and Dermeval da Hora Oliveira (UFPB) in February 2003. It was then approved by the Letters/Linguistics Committee ​​ in January 2004, by the CAPES Technical Advisory Council on February 10, 2004 and by the Higher Education Chamber of the National Education Council on November 10, 2004 (Opinion No. 314/2004). The Master’s Degree Course in Language Sciences has been certified by Ordinance 4,310, dated December 21, 2004 (published in the Federal Official Gazette on December 23, 2004, section 1, p. 33). During this process, the Course issued a selection notice for the first classes of the CAPES Curriculum in March 2004 and classes started on July 5 of the same year.

  In 2007, the Board developed a project for a Doctoral Course in Language Sciences. In this project, the major was renamed “Textual, Discourse and Cultural Processes”, with three lines of research: “Texts and Discourse Practices”, ” Semantic Processes Discourse Analysis” and “Language and Cultural Processes” (readjusted in 2010 into two lines of research: “Text and Discourse” and “Language and Culture”). The project was submitted to CAPES in March 2008, and the approval of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Linguagem (PPGCL, Postgraduate Program in Language Sciences) (Master’s and Doctoral degrees) was approved at a meeting of UNISUL Management Chamber on April 9, 2008.

  On December 2, 2008, the Program was assessed in loco by a CAPES Verification Committee formed by professors Diana Luz Pessoa de Barros (UPM) and Célia Marques Telles (UFBA). The PPGCL was approved at the 106th Meeting of the Technical Advisory Board of CAPES on December 10, 2008. The Higher Education Chamber of the National Council of Education ratified the approval (Opinion No. 122/2009), and the Doctoral Course in Language Sciences was certified by Ordinance No. 589, dated June 18, 2009. In the first semester of 2009, the first selection process was carried out, and classes began on July 6 in Palhoça (SC) and on July 16 in Tubarão (SC).

  The PPGCL had already been evaluated in May2008 by an assessment Committee of the State Education Council of Santa Catarina, formed by Professors Rosângela Hammes Rodrigues (UFSC) and Ana Cláudia de Souza (UFSC). Based on the visit report and on the State Council of Education’s Opinion 265, dated August 26, 2008, the certification of the Master’s Degree Course at the State level was extended for five years (Decree No. 1.729, dated October 7, 2008). As of 2013, the State Council began validating CAPES assessments.

  The PPGCL has a specific relevance between the stricto sensu courses of the Southern mesoregion of Santa Catarina and the metropolitan mesoregion of Florianópolis. Its Master’s Degree Course was the first stricto sensu course at the University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNISUL) to be aligned with the Sistema Nacional de Pós-Graduação (SNPG, National Postgraduate System) in 2003; its Doctoral Course was the institution’s first course to be approved by CAPES in 2008; and, in 2017, the first University Program to receive grade “5”.

  Given its pioneering spirit, the PPGCL has been exerting a strong impact on the qualification of postgraduates in higher and technological education institutions, especially in its surroundings. As of December 31, 2020, the PPGCL had granted 378 masters’ degrees and 89 doctors’ degrees (51 masters’ and 42 doctors’ degree in the 2017-2020 quadrennium) and certified 8 post-doctoral internships (among which 5 in the 2017-2020 quadrennium).

  In addition, the Program is a strong reference in textual, discourse and cultural studies, with recognized national leadership in promoting events in the field of linguistics and literature, among which outstands the Seminário em Discurso, Cultura e Mídia (SEDISC, Seminar on Discourse, Culture and Media), the result of partnerships interinstitutional with the PPGL of UFRGS and the Unicamp IEL; a qualified portfolio of scientific publications, including the journals “Language in (Dis)course” (A1), “Cultural Critique” (B1) and “Memorare” (B2); and solid commitment with the University of Southern Santa Catarina community vocation.

• Mission

  Provide qualified postgraduate training for professionals in Languages, Cinema and Audiovisual, Journalism, Publicity and Advertising and related fields for higher education teaching and for the research and production of knowledge in languages in their textual, discourse and cultural dimensions.

• Objectives

  To fulfill its mission, the PPGCL aims at the following objectives: (a) promote research in languages in their textual, discourse and cultural dimensions; and (b) qualify professionals in Languages, Film and Audiovisual, Journalism, Publicity and Advertising and related fields for the research and development of knowledge in language and for teaching in higher education.

• Major

  The PPGCL’s major is called “TEXTUAL, DISCOURSE AND CULTURAL PROCESSES”, so that its master’s and doctoral courses are organized around language studies that focus on social practices of linguistic interaction, the discourse processes of production of meaning and aesthetic-cultural manifestations.

  In summary, the major consists of postgraduate studies on: (a) oral and written interactions as components of socially inserted discourse practices; (b) the processes of production of meaning, from its subjective dimension to its social, historical and ideological dimension; and (c) verbal and non-verbal languages and their correlations, as well as cultural and aesthetic manifestations in modernity and contemporaneity, with emphasis on symbolic production and its different supports).

• Research lines

  To cover the major area, the PPGCL fosters two lines of research.

  The research line “LANGUAGE AND CULTURE” aims to study verbal and non-verbal languages and their correlations, as well as cultural and aesthetic manifestations, with emphasis on symbolic production and its different supports within modernity and contemporaneity. The research projects linked to this line of research operate at an intersection between the fields of literature, arts (visual, scenic, musical), photography, cinema, fashion, anthropology and communication.

  The “TEXT AND DISCOURSE” line of research aims at studying the processes of production of meaning in their subjective, social, historical and ideological dimensions. In the research projects linked to this line of research, it is understood that the processes of meaning always take place in specific and unique social events, triggering, in addition to language, material determinations.

• Students and Graduates Profile

  The PPGCL mainly attends graduates in the courses of Arts, Cinema and Audiovisual, Journalism, Publicity and Advertising. In addition, considering the multidisciplinary dimension of its major, the Program welcomes students of the most different Licenciate programs and bachelor’s degrees who are interested in textual, discourse and cultural objects.

  Based on this context, the profile’s core of PPGCL graduates is the theoretical, practical and ethical competences in the field of Linguistics and Literature.

  With regard to the development of theoretical skills, the PPGCL promotes activities that qualify the student to carry out analyzes and syntheses specific of theoretical reflection; to critically observe language, as a multifaceted phenomenon and subject to multiple approaches (cognitive, social, interactional, historical, cultural, political and ideological); discuss the problems of theoretical perspectives applied to languages investigations; advance the conceptual context of the area, producing and socializing knowledge.

  With regard to the development of practical skills, the PPGCL promotes activities that qualify the student to master the theories, methods and techniques necessary for the qualified exercise of research, teaching and extension.

  With regard to the development of ethical competences, the PPGCL promotes activities to reflect on the influence of teaching, research and extension in Linguistics and Literature in society, in social groups and in the individuals directly involved.

• Master's Degree Course

  To obtain the title of Master of Science in Language, the student must garner 24 credits (360 hours) in the course subjects and 6 credits (90 hours) in the dissertation. PPGCL provides this education in 2 years.

  The first year is dedicated to disciplines in the major area, lines of research and research projects of professors and students which are “Special Topics” and “Topics for Guided Reading”, respectively.

  The second year of training is dedicated to the elaboration of the dissertation and takes place in three phases: Dissertation Project Qualification, Dissertation Qualification (optional) and Public Defense of the dissertation.

• Doctoral Degree Course

  To obtain the title of Doctor in Language Sciences, the student must garner 48 credits (720 hours) in the course subjects and 12 credits (180 hours) in the thesis. The course provides this education in 4 years.

  In the event that validation of the Master’s Degree credits is not applicable, the first three semesters will be dedicated to subjects that are common to the Master’s Degree (Mandatory in the Major Area, Basic Research Line and Special Topics) and to subjects that are exclusive in the doctoral program (“Advanced Seminars” and “Advanced Reading Topics”). At the end of the subject “Advanced Seminars”, the thesis project is qualified. The remaining five semesters are dedicated to guidance, qualification and thesis defense procedures.

  In the hypothesis of validation of the Master’s Degree disciplines, including mandatory disciplines in the major field and basic lines of research of the PPGCL itself, the exclusive disciplines of the doctoral program are offered in the first two semesters. The remaining six semesters are dedicated to guidance, qualification and thesis defense procedures.