Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: FLÁVIA GABRIELA DA SILVA BARBOSA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : FLÁVIA GABRIELA DA SILVA BARBOSA
DATE: 13/07/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Google Meet
TITLE:

OLD BODIES: PORTRAYALS OF OLD AGE IN THE FICTION OF J. M. COETZEE

KEY WORDS:

Keywords: old age; gender; Age of Iron; Disgrace; Coetzee.

PAGES: 71
BIG AREA: Lingüística, Letras e Artes
AREA: Letras
SUBÁREA: Literatura Comparada
SUMMARY:

Old age, although often presented as a biological category, is in fact a historical construct. Different fields of knowledge conduct detailed analyses of this complexity, highlighting the multiple aspects it involves. The literary field, specifically, discusses the experience of old age through the weaving of plots and the presentation of characters in the aging process with varied trajectories, understood within diverse historical, social, and geographical contexts. For example, there is the work of the South African novelist J. M. Coetzee, who frequently places the elderly at the center of the narrative. The epistolary novel Age of Iron (1990) demonstrates this through its protagonist, an elderly woman, while Disgrace (1999) shows the trajectory of a man in the aging process. The setting of both novels is the same: a South Africa marked by the Apartheid racial segregation movement. In this way, each protagonist reflects their own senescence and the prejudices faced by having an old body, connecting these experiences to the history of the country in which they live. With this in mind, this dissertation aims to examine the approaches and procedures adopted in Age of Iron and Disgrace in relation to the theme of old age, observing whether they reinforce or challenge stereotypes about aging, particularly regarding gender differences. The research adopts a methodology of an eminently bibliographical-interpretative nature, relying on an interdisciplinary discussion with theorists from Literature (Benjamin, 1984; Attwell, 1993; Attridge, 2004; Stein, 2004; Head, 2009; Candido, 2014), Anthropology (Beauvoir, 2024; Goldenberg, 2009 and 2020), Philosophy (Derrida, 1994; Cicero, 2021; Fanon, 2022), History (Ariès, 1986; Pereira, 2012), Psychology (Bosi, 2023; Iaconelli, 2023), and Gender Studies (Crenshaw, 1989; Walker, 2011; Pickard, 2016; bell hooks, 2018; Lugones, 2020). Thus, this research intends to contribute to the critical reception of Coetzee's work, which, despite being vast, still presents gaps in studies conducted from the perspective of old age.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo ao Programa - 1493578 - LUIS ALFREDO FERNANDES DE ASSIS - UFRNPresidente - 3351552 - ROSANNE BEZERRA DE ARAUJO
Externo à Instituição - SUENIO STEVENSON TOMAZ DA SILVA - UFCG
Externo à Instituição - TITO MATIAS FERREIRA JÚNIOR - IFRN