Read the text and answer the following question.

                                                 Read the text and answer the following question.

The master's program “British and American Cultures: Texts and Media" deals with the cultural productions of Great Britain and the United States of America in all their forms and variations. In addition to the research-oriented examination of English and American literature from their beginnings to the present day, the program also focuses on contemporary theoretical and critical discourses such as postcolonial studies, cultural studies, gender studies, performance studies, and media studies. From the dramas of Shakespeare to the representation of gender in American and British television, from Hamlet to the narrative forms of new media, a broad spectrum of texts will be discussed from multiple theoretical and methodological perspectives. Students will learn advanced analytical skills in dealing with fiction, poetry, drama, photography, movies, paintings, comics, and music. The course puts a special emphasis on innovative didactic methods of communication and on independent research work conducted by students. These approaches include, for example, the guided organization of a conference, symposium, or publication during which the students will be showcasing their own projects or research papers. Students will attend seminars and lectures in both English and American Studies with the option to specialize in one of these disciplines in the later part of the program.

Disponível em:

<http://www.uni hamburg.de/iaa/Master_British_and_American_Cultures.html>. Acesso em: setembro 2014.

The words highlighted in the text: deals, examination, broad, research and option could be replaced by the following with no change in their meanings: