El juego de apariencias y realidad en la tradición épico-burlesca de "Don Quijote" y "An ice-cream war"

Al igual que la parodia, con la que comparte multitud de similitudes, el género épico-burlesco se ha tildado frecuentemente de parasitario por su dependencia del texto original que es objeto de la parodia. Sin ser el caso de Don Quijote de la Mancha, quizá sea éste el más claro ejemplo de narrativa épica-burlesca. A lo largo del siglo XX, escritores como William Boyd han intentado rescatar este género mediante la incorporación de episodios que muestran ciertos paralelismos con este tipo de escritos. El objetivo de este trabajo será, pues, el de trazar un análisis comparativo entre dos de los episodios más significativos de la obra de Cervantes y de An Ice-Cream War (1982) — en los que se puede apreciar de qué manera ambos autores juegan con el contraste entre apariencias y realidad con el fin de parodiar y satirizar los valores y bases de la literatura épica clásica. Asimismo, se intentará profundizar en las estrategias retóricas de que se sirven Cervantes y Boyd para conseguir este efecto épico-burlesco. Similarly to parody, the mock-heroic has been usually considered a parasitic genre due mostly to its dependence on the text that is object of its parodic deconstruction. It is precisely Don Quijote de la Mancha, one of the most universal literary accounts, the best example of mock-heroic narrative and a source of insurmountable studies and scholarship. Throughout the twentieth century, some authors have attempted to recuperate this tradition by means of introducing plots that evince certain parallelisms with respect to these early mock-epic works. The purpose of this paper will be, thus, to trace a comparative analysis between two of the most relevant episodes in Don Quijote and William Boyd ’s An Ice- Cream War –in which we can infer the way in which both authors manipulate the contrast between appearances and reality in order to satirise the foundations of classic epic literature. Also, I will attempt to analyse the rhetorical strategies both Cervantes and Boyd draw on in order to accomplish this mock-heroic effect

"Peace for our Time": a Uchronian Approach to British Fascism in Jo Walton’s "Farthing"

This paper draws on a uchronian framework to analyse Jo Walton’s Farthing (2006) as a suitable example of a counterfactual Britain in the aftermath of an effective peace agreement with Nazi Germany. The following pages will attempt to intertwine the purely historical comment on the intricacies that underlay the rise of fascism in the country with the allohistorical turns that ignite the plot of the novel and its point of divergence, which brings about the appointment of a fascist militant as Prime Minister and the outburst of a violent antisemitic wave. The study of this novel will be informed by a wide array of critics and historians like Amy Ramson, Karen Hellekson, Richard Thurlow or Nigel Copsey, among others, whose work contributes to tracing significant parallelisms between the historical outcome and the uchronian alternatives Walton explores in her workEste artículo parte de un marco ucrónico para analizar Farthing (2006) de Jo Walton, una obra que se centra en una Gran Bretaña alohistórica en los años posteriores a la firma de un tratado de paz con la Alemania nazi. Este estudio tratará de fusionar el discurso histórico de un periodo que es testigo del surgimiento del fascismo en el país con la propuesta ucrónica que plantea la novela y que trae como consecuencia el nombramiento de un militante fascista como primer ministro y el estallido de una violenta corriente antisemita. El análisis de esta novela parte de las teorías de críticos e historiadores como Amy Ramson, Karen Hellekson, Richard Thurlow o Nigel Copsey, entre otros, cuyos trabajos contribuyen a trazar interesantes paralelismos entre la historia que conocemos y el mundo contrafáctico que recrea Walto

DYSTOPIAN SCIENCE FICTION AS A MEANS OF TEACHING ENGLISH TO TECHNICAL DEGREE STUDENTS

Introduction: the article deals with various possibilities of using literary excerpts from dystopian narrative in the classroom of English learners from technical institutes. This approach could fit into the traditional and communicative methodology framework for furthering a more informed and deeper understanding of lexical and grammatical formulas, syntactic relations, discursive particulars and extralinguistic concepts. Science fiction texts with a clear dystopian undertone provide a rich material for language-based analysis and in-class discussions inspired by poignant multimodal creative discourse related to the spheres of engineering, robotics, academic research and daily life. Therefore, it could raise students’ motivation, professional curiosity and fascination with the English language that is now part of the technical university syllabus. Materials and Methods: the author uses the theoretical and practical suggestions put forward by Western teaching ideologists and practicionaries of such literature and language approach as well as attempts to summarize her own experience of working as an English teacher at the technical university. Certain literary excerpts from exemplary science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (1968) have been chosen for analysis and discussion. Results: the article showcases language uses and discourse messages in the passages of our choice as potential material for developing tasks, activities and discussions that could contribute to expanding students’ linguistic competencies and communicative skills. This could become a way of humanizing technical education and introducing socio-cultural or technological dilemmas. Discussion and Conclusions: the ideas for grammatical or lexical exercises, entertaining tasks or debate topics can be incorporated into the English courses that make an emphasis on general, specific or academic aspects and seek to avoid overloading their syllabus with non-contextualized or condescending English language textual material. These suggestions could be taken into account for preparing regular lessons, reading sessions or home tasks