Beyond time and oblivion : Sir Robert Sidney’s autograph manuscript

Dealing with ancient manuscript or old printed texts often constitutes a difficult task, especially to philologists and editors, for two main reasons: the precarious state of preservation of the documents and the uncertainty regarding their origin, authenticity and authorship. These problems are aggravated by spurious versions, due to the publication of truncated works, poorly supervised miscellanies and non-authorised editions. Sir Robert Sidney’s literary text constitutes an exception amidst such vicissitudes, once the original corpus is wholly contained in a notebook exhibiting the organisation and unity conceived by the author himself. Today, there is no evidence that any loose poems, either autograph or copied by amanuenses, were in circulation among members of the Elizabethan court society. The notebook was kept in private collections for four centuries, which probably explains why it was so well preserved. In fact, only in 1984 would P.J. Croft’s fine edition bring the youngest Sidney’s Poems into light. In this work, I approach Croft’s perceptive, accurate philological study that eventually rescued from oblivion a remarkable piece both of the Elizabethan lyric poetry and of the English Renaissance, and, at the same time, look into Robert Sidney’s peculiar, careful and original formatting of his own autograph manuscript.

On righteousness and dignity : two challenging issues since early modern times

Concepts such as righteousness, equality, tolerance and freedom are nowadays considered fundamental issues that should prevail in any society. Balance and righteousness thrive however on a very thin layer. We are, in fact, living in an era of duality and antithetical paradigms. This essay approaches two Renaissance authors who dealt with the same matters in their works, at a very different time and through different ways of reflection: Thomas More and Sir Walter Raleigh.

Avaliação alternativa digital da oralidade “Em Qualquer Lugar do Mundo”

A avaliação de competências requer uma abordagem na qual conhecimentos, capacidades e atitudes estão integrados, o que implica, necessariamente, o recurso a uma variedade de estratégias de avaliação. Neste contexto, surge o que alguns autores designam como a Cultura de Avaliação. Por sua vez, os ambientes de aprendizagem em e-learning no ensino superior exigem o repensar de outras formas de avaliação digital. Assim, a utilização de novas ferramentas de comunicação online (tecnologias digitais) e o uso de novos modos de avaliação digital na área científica de Língua representaram um desafio para os docentes da Universidade Aberta (UAb) aquando da sua implementação, impondo, em simultâneo, um constante processo de actualização. Tendo em conta o contexto do ensino de línguas estrangeiras na UAb, são apresentadas algumas dessas estratégias e soluções de avaliação digital da competência oral – nomeadamente, a compreensão e a produção.