ABRAPUI (The Brazilian Association of Higher Education Teachers of English) was founded in 1970 with the aim of becoming a forum for higher education teachers interested in the teaching/learning language process and in doing research to meet and discuss. In its first years, the Association set a tradition of organizing annual meetings for the discussion of Literatures in English. From 1979 on annual meetings were also held for the discussion of English language studies. Later the meetings turned into bi-annual events, alternating between Literatures in English
and Language studies.

The group realised, with the passing of years and the recurrence of the meetings, that many of the participants actually hovered between the two areas, this large area we call English. In 2003 and 2005 the two events were organised concomitantly, but taking place each on its own stance. It was so organized as an experience, with the idea of integrating the academics who develop work in the two areas, as well as propitiating an opportunity for the interchange of ideas between teachers who dedicate their research separately to one of the two areas. This initiative was very successful, precluding the duplication of efforts in organizing two separate meetings and allowing participants a more enriching experience.

In the general members’ assembly realised during the 2005 event, the new board of directors of ABRAPUI, consisting of professors from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and Federal University of São João del Rei, made a proposition to the effect of putting together the two concomitant events, and the idea was unanimously approved. This initiative had the objective of formalising the international character the previous conferences had been assuming of late with the spontaneous participation of colleagues from abroad. It was decided, therefore, on the organisation of the I International Conference of ABRAPUI for 2007.

With the coming of age of the research on the area we deal with, ABRAPUI members interact with academics of diverse countries in the world, which includes the participation in multi-national projects. In turning the event into an international one, ABRAPUI intends to enhance the internationalisation of the area, giving Brazilian researchers the opportunity to interact with colleagues from other countries, exchanging experiences and creating new partnerships.

In the I International Conference, whose theme is “New Challenges in Language and Literature”, we continued discussing the issues, brought about in the 2005 Conference, of language and literatures in the context of different media and the arts. We firstly discussed how research in and teaching of the English language and literatures are adapting to contemporary reality and in which way this reality has been inspiring changes in the area. Secondly, we discussed the challenges in teaching and researching a foreign language and its literatures in Brazilian universities, and looked for answers to meet this challenge, as well as probing into the necessary interaction with foreign cultures and institutions. Among the questions teachers of the area considered relevant for university teaching and researching, we highlight:


1. How has university teaching of languages – English – been responding to the challenges put forth by the new technologies and by the new social, cultural and political configurations in our country and abroad?

2. In which way the teachers in the area can contribute for a more adequate preparation of future teachers of English language and literatures in 21st Century context?

3. How can the new media and information technology become useful for teaching and researching?

4. How can we give critical answers to new learning approaches, such as distance teaching, or the offer of classes through the Internet? In which way can we give students autonomy and at the same time keep their interaction with their peers and teachers?

5. In the teaching of literatures, how do we manage to incorporate the reading of new authors and oncoming new minorities without disregarding the English language literary canon? Or else, how can we at the same time take into consideration the Cultural Studies approach and the more traditional notions of Literary Studies?

6. How can we stimulate transdisciplinary research without losing sight of the space of Literature? In which way can we develop research in Comparative Literature and at the same time keep literature as a central issue? How can we stimulate Intermedia studies in a critical way and still keep a vivid dialogue with teachers and academics of other arts and media?



We would like to thank all the participants who sent us their texts to be published in this CD making it possible for us to gather a representative sample of new challenges in language and literature.