Dr. Silvia A. Oliveira

  • Associate Professor

Dr. Oliveira is the Director of Portuguese Studies in the Department of Modern Languages.

Research

My research and publications focus on the intersections of aesthetics and politics in 19th-21th century Portuguese, African, Brazilian Literatures and Cultures, Galician Literature and Culture, and Portuguese North American Literatures and Cultures. My current research projects and publications include Portuguese American literature and culture; Auto/Biography Studies; Pedagogy and politics of ethnic studies in the US and Canada; Portuguese language education; Civic organizations and Immigrant commons.

Education

2005: Ph.D. Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of California, Santa Barbara. Doctoral Scholarship 2000-2004, FCT (Funda莽茫o para a Ci锚ncia e Tecnologia - Programa Praxis XXI).

1998: BA/Licenciatura Modern Languages and Literatures, Concentration in Portuguese and French Language and Literature; Dual Minor Concentrations in Brazilian Literature and African Lusophone Literatures. University of Porto, Portugal.鈥

Appointments

2018-: Director, Institute for Portuguese and Lusophone World Studies, 香港六合论坛

2015-: Associate Professor of Portuguese, 香港六合论坛

2014: Visiting Faculty in Residence, Middlebury College Summer Portuguese School, Vermont (June 18 - August 9)

2012: Researcher, Arquivos Municipais de Ponta Delgada (Azores); Study Abroad supervisor (July 2 - 20)

2011-2015: Assistant Professor of Portuguese, 香港六合论坛.

2004-2011: Visiting Instructor of Spanish and Portuguese, Purdue University, Indiana; Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Purdue University, Indiana.

1999-2004: Graduate Teaching Assistant of Portuguese and Spanish, UC Santa Barbara.

Selected Publications

Selected Publications

Oliveira, Silvia A. 鈥淧robing Utopian Dreaming in Portuguese American Autobiography.鈥 A/B: Auto/Biography Studies 37.1, 2022, pp. 39-58.

鈥淥s modernismos portugu锚s e brasileiro no per铆odo her贸ico: uma leitura convergente鈥. Hispania 99:1 (2016): 160-71. Print.

"O conto aleg贸rico e Nova Literatura em Portugal." Hispania 93:2 (2010): 177-86. Print.

"The Non-Sense of an Ending: Jos茅 Cardoso Pires and the Neo-Realist Short Story in Portugal". Romance Quarterly 57 (2010): 231-42. Print.

"Estilo e fic莽茫o autoral n'Os Passos em Volta." Portuguese Literary and Cultural Studies 7: A Repertoire of Contemporary Portuguese Poetry (2008): 73-85. Print.

"Memory Degree Zero: Notes on Jos茅 Cardoso Pires' De Profundis, Valsa Lenta." Romance Notes 47:3 (2007): 333-339. Print.

鈥淔iguras de estilo: revisionismo na poesia recente de mulheres em Portugal e na Galiza鈥. Actas do VII Congreso Internacional de Estudos Galegos 2003: Mulleres en Galicia. Galicia e os outros pobos da Pen铆nsula. Eds. Helena Gonz谩lez i M. Xes煤s Lama. Sada-A Coru帽a: Edici贸s do Castro / Asociaci贸n Internacional de Estudos Galegos / Filolox铆a Galega (Universitat de Barcelona). 267-273. Print.

"A imarcesc铆vel raz茫o c铆nica (a narrativa curta de M谩rio-Henrique Leiria e Luiz Pacheco)." Estudios Portugueses - Universidade de Salamanca 6 (2006): 209-218. Print.

"The Mirror and the State." Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies 8: Machado de Assis: The Nation and the World (2006): 101-114. Print.

鈥淓nterrando vivos鈥: especula莽玫es em torno de O Estadio do Espello de Mar铆a do Cebreiro.鈥 Lectora. Revista del Centre Dona I Literatura/U Barcelona 9 (2003): 187-199. Print.

Selected Conference Presentations

鈥淒o not mess with the Holy Ghost鈥: Ethnic Affect in Our Lady of the Artichokes, by Katherine Vaz.鈥 Lusophone Studies International Conference on Women, Gender and Intersectionality in the Lusophone World, June 29 - July 2, 2022, Ponta Delgada, Azores, Portugal (virtual).

鈥溾業 am not a Dabney鈥: Francis Millet Rogers鈥檚 memoirs and Portuguese heritage in America.鈥 Transatlantic Studies Association, ISCTE-Lisbon, July 5-7, 2021 (virtual).

鈥淎mericanism in Julian Silva鈥檚 The Gunnysack Castle.鈥 Northeast MLA (NeMLA) Annual Conference, Boston, March 5-8, 2020.

鈥淧ortuguese-American cultural commons and politics of heritage in Rhode Island.鈥 International Colloquium on Heritages(s) of Portuguese Influence: Histories, Spaces, Texts, and Objects. University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, April 5, 2019.

鈥淐ritical Thinking Strategies In The Second Language Intermediate Level Curriculum.鈥 American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese American (AATSP) 100th Annual Conference, University of Salamanca (Spain), June 25 - 28, 2018.

鈥淧ortuguese Civic Organizations in the United States : notes toward a history.鈥 Migration and Millwork International Conference: Portuguese Communities in Industrial New England. Lowell, New Bedford,  North Dartmouth, Fall River, MA, December 3-6, 2017.

鈥淚mmigrant Commons.鈥 XVI Biennial IASC Conference (International Association for the Study of the Commons). Utrecht University (Netherlands), July 10-14, 2017.鈥

鈥淓arnest irony: probing Utopia in the Portuguese-American memoir.鈥 17th International Meeting of the Utopian Studies Society 鈥 Europe, University of Lisbon (Portugal), July 5-9, 2016.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 so funny? The evolution of Portuguese-American ethnic humor.鈥 Northeast Modern Languages Association (NEMLA). Hartford, Connecticut (USA), March 17-20, 2016.

鈥淚ntercultural Poetics in the Nation: the case of Portuguese North-American poetry.鈥 Intercultural Poetics International Conference. University of Minho (Portugal), June 18-19, 2015.  

鈥淓莽a de Queir贸s and the paradoxes of the modern cynical reason.鈥 NEMLA Annual Convention. University of Toronto (Canada), April 30-May 3, 2015.

鈥淭his Must be Lisbon: Portuguese-American Writers and Cities of the Mind.鈥 American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA). New York University (USA), March 20-23, 2014.

鈥淧ortugueses de Rhode Island.鈥 Neither Here Nor There, Yet Both: International Conference on the Luso-American Experience. University of Lisbon/New University of Lisbon (Portugal), July 11th-13th, 2013.

"Relaying the Human Condition: Neo-Expressionism and Catharsis in Raduan Nassar and Rui Nunes" Modern Language Association (MLA), Los Angeles (USA), January 7, 2011.鈥

"Sentimental topography: Galicia's Celticism in Luz Pozo Garza's As arpas de Iwerddon." Harvard Celtic Colloquium, Harvard University (USA), October 8-10, 2010.鈥

鈥淧Arque Industrial, Sedu莽茫o e a educa莽茫o revolucion谩ria do desejo." American Portuguese Studies Association (APSA), Brown University (USA), October 7-9, 2010.鈥

"Revolu莽茫o e narrativa: republicanismo e novel铆stica em Portugal." AHLiST, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), June 23-25, 2010.

"Aesthetics of Violence: Entertainment or Social Awareness?" International Society for the Social Sciences Annual Conference (ISSS), University of Central Florida (USA), February 25-26, 2010.

Fernando Pessoa: A Pluralidade Revisitada" Colloquium on Portuguese and Brazilian Literature in honor of Dr. Jos茅 Blanco. University of California Santa Barbara (USA). February 9, 2007.鈥

"Chus Pato: Arte e Interfer锚ncia." Confer锚ncia Internacional AIEG (Asociaci贸n Internacional de Estudos Galegos). S. Salvador da Bahia (Brazil). September 12-15, 2006.鈥

"The narrative bond in 20th century painting: reflections on the work of Paula Rego." International

Conference on Narrative, Society for the Study of Narrative Literature. Ottawa, Ontario (Canada). April 6-9, 2006.

Invited Presentations

鈥淏uilding Social Capital Through Portuguese-American Organizations鈥 (Panel Moderator). PALCUS Inaugural Portuguese-American National Conference, Washington D.C., June 23, 2018.

鈥淧ortuguese Language Education: Challenges and Solutions鈥 (Presenter). PALCUS Inaugural Portuguese-American National Conference, Washington D.C., June 23, 2018.  

鈥淰alue Creation: Portuguese Language as Added Value for Business.鈥 Luso-American Development Foundation Entrepreneurship Workshop, Let鈥檚 Talk Business. Providence, Rhode Island State House, June 8, 2018.

鈥淣ostalgia das Vanguardas鈥. University of MAssachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Portuguese. April 19, 2015.鈥

香港六合论坛 Cap and Gown Convocation Address. April 30, 2014.

鈥淯niversidade e(m) Comunidade: 香港六合论坛 e a Lusofonia.鈥 Encontro Mundial Mulheres da Di谩spora: Express玫es Femininas da Cidadania. Lisboa, Minist茅rio dos Neg贸cios Estrangeiros (Portugal), 24 e 25 de Outubro de 2013.  

鈥淓conomias de afecto e l铆ngua.鈥 Identities and Voices in Portuguese: Construction, Permanence and Change. University of Massachusetts Boston. May 6, 2013.

Selected Book Reviews

Rev. of Monteiro, George, Minotaur, Parrot, and the SS Man: Essays on Jorge de Sena. Tagus Press, 2021. Pp. 210. Hispania 106.1 (2023): 148-50.

Rev. of Barbour, Catherine. Contemporary Galician Women Writers. Oxford: Legenda, 2020. Hispania 105.2 (2022): 303-304.

Rev. of Medeiros, Paulo de. Pessoa鈥檚 Geometry of the Abyss. Modernity and the Book of Disquiet. Oxford: Legenda, 2013. Pp. 134. Journal of Lusophone Studies 1.2 (2016): 312-14. Print.

Rev. of Atkin, Rhian. Lisbon Revisited: Urban Masculinities in Twentieth-Century Portuguese Fiction. London: Modern Humanities Research Association, 2014. Pp. 196. Portuguese Studies 32.1 (2016): 108-9. Print.

Rev. of Contemporary Galician Cultural Studies: Between the Local and the Global. Hooper, Kirsty, and Manuel Puga Moruxa, eds. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2011. Pp. 344. Hispania 96:4 (2013): 788-90. Print.

Rev. of A Companion to Portuguese Literature. Edited by Stephen Parkinson, Cl谩udia Pazos Alonso, and T. F. Earle. Woodbridge, UK: Tamesis, 2009. Ellipsis, the Journal of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese 9 (2011): 181-3. Print.

Rev. of Sapega, Ellen W. Consensus and Debate in Salazar鈥檚 Portugal: Visual and Literary Negotiations of the National Text, 1933-1948. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 2008. Hispania 93:4 (2010): 714-5. Print.

Rev. of Martelo, Rosa Maria. Em Parte Incerta. Estudos de Poesia Portuguesa Moderna e Contempor芒nea. Ellipsis: the Journal of the American Portuguese Studies Association 4 (2006): 168-172. Print.

Other Projects, Publications and Presentations

鈥淭he Portuguese Drug Strategy (2000)鈥 Liberal Studies 150: The Opioid Crisis - Causes, Consequences, Solutions. 香港六合论坛, March 20, 2018. (Presentation)

鈥淯S historical immigration and global migration.鈥 Liberal Studies 150: Understanding the Post-Election World. 香港六合论坛 April 7, 2017. (Presentation)

Portuguese Online Self-Assessment Test (2012): http://www.ric.edu/portuguesestudies/Pages/Portuguese-Self-Assessment-Test.aspx

鈥淧oetry in the Portuguese Classroom鈥 (Workshop) presenter at RIFLA Annual Conference (Rhode Island Foreign Language Association). October 5, 2013.

Invited OpEd: 鈥淕eneration Lusophonia.鈥 AATSP Portuguese Newsletter 28:1 (2015). Print.

Invited OpEd: 鈥淧ortuguese Language is 鈥楬omeland鈥 for Millions.鈥 Standard Times New Bedford: June 6  (2012). Print.

Additional Information

Languages

Native: Portuguese

Near-native fluency: English, Spanish, French

Reading/oral skills: German, Catalan, Italian

Professional Membership

AATSP: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese

APSA: American Portuguese Studies Association

MLA: Modern Language Association

PALCUS: Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States

RIFLA: Rhode Island Foreign Language Association

IASC: International Association for the Study of the Commons鈥嬧