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Biography
I graduated in General and Romance Languages Linguistics from the University of Lisbon - Faculty of Arts, in 2003, and between 2003 and 2004 I have completed a Specialist Course for Editing Technicians. I have completed, in 2019, the Associate Teachers Program, which provides me with an Associate Fellowship of Advance HE, obtained via the internal Nottingham Recognition Scheme.
My MA by research in Portuguese and Lusophone Studies, completed at the University of Nottingham, in 2019, focus on Herberto Helder (Portugal, 1930-2015) and is entitled herberto helder: os gestos do poema. This research, supervised by Dr Rui Miranda and Prof Bernard McGuirk, examines in which ways the poetical subjectivity disappears inside the poem and is transformed into the poem itself through a combination of processes, and analyses Helder's conception of a continuous poem while developing his own poetical philosophy. Herberto Helder's poetry is renowned as being enigmatic and obscure, drawing on surrealism and symbolism. Hence, the urge for new critical approaches to his poetry is frequently considered not only a challenge but also of great relevance in modern and contemporary Portuguese literature.
My PhD, completed in 2023, was supervised by Dr Rui Miranda, Dr Alvaro Vidal Bouzon, and Prof Bernard McGuirk. With the title "Clarice Lispector e Herberto Helder: do mito ao texto", this research aims to develop the first comparative study between the Brazilian author Clarice Lispector (1920-1977) and the Portuguese poet Herberto Helder (1930-2015), two key figures from 20th century Lusophone literature.
Over the past years, I have been teaching Portuguese Language in Modern Languages and Cultures - Spanish Portuguese and Latin American Studies Section. In this role I delivered a wide range of seminars and tutorials for undergraduate students at different levels (MLAC1049: Portuguese 1 Beginners, MLAC2062: Portuguese 2 Beginners, and MLAC2118: Post A-level Portuguese), including writing and listening tutorials, and seminars focusing on grammar and oral communication. For the past two years, I have been teaching the Oral Seminar for both Portuguese 1 Beginners and Portuguese 2 Beginners.
I am also a Portuguese language teacher at the Language Centre, where I deliver classes of Portuguese Language Level 1 for MBA/MSc students (Business School - UoN) and Portuguese Language Level 1 and 2 for the general public and students who have signed up for the Language Centre's evening classes, being the convenor of all the three levels.
As I believe that language acquisition can be encouraged and facilitated through a rich and varied range of activities, which include introducing students to specific elements of Lusophone culture, such as literature and cinema, I regularly organise extra-curricular activities. In these, are included the "Lusophone Cinema Cycle" and the "Portuguese Christmas Party". I also co-organised with Lorna Kirkby and Mark Sabine (SPLAS) the visit of eminent Portuguese writer Hélia Correia to Nottingham (2017) and the "Contemporary Brazilian Cinema Series" (2018) with Gianlluca Simi (CFM/SPLAS).
In December 2019, I co-organised with Dr Rui Miranda an International Conference to celebrate the 100 years of Sophia de Mello Breyner and Jorge de Sena, two of the most eminent personalities of the Portuguese literary landscape of the XXth century.
Recent Publications
SARA COSTA, 2021. Um imenso outrar-se: leituras herberteanas em pessoa. In: FRANCESCA PASCIOLLA and RUI GONÇALVES MIRANDA, eds., Fernando Pessoa: abordagens 6. SPLASH Editions. 244-264
2019. Walt Whitman in Fernando Pessoa - Literary Review Hispanic Research Journal: Iberian and Latin American Studies. 20(3), 311-313 2019. Herberto Helder: poeta-poema Tamanha Poesia: Poesia Portuguesa Moderna e Contemporânea II: construções e variações. 4(7), 384-397