The project results
have been worthwhile from every standpoint: in terms of research there's a
world of possibilities ahead as each of the recovered books offers new readings
not just of the past but of what may be: locals and in particular minority groups
will have one more opportunity to reclaim their past and make a better present.
The books might even offer grounds for land reclaiming. So if you think history
is just about the past forget that!!
It was my second trip to the archives in Lisbon - Torre do Tombo - that propelled my trip to Brazil. From that first trip there's one particular document on a self-enslaved indigenous woman from the mid 1700s that I had the pleasure of translating and using in class - the students loved it, looking to decipher the mysteries of a real person, who more than 200 years ago had made such a difficult decision with her life. In fact, the entire class participated in the re-construction of what might have been her social, political and cultural environment. It was the beginning of an article that I hope to re-finish (as new info appears this article seems to grow into a book size) soon with the help of a dear friend, Daniel Barroso, a PhD student from Belem do Para without who, quite frankly, nothing would have turned out as nicely! Thank you Daniel, I say, as we prepare for a lifelong cooperation. As you can see the ramifications continue :)
Finally, me and some of my students - Julia Behrend, from Portuguese 111, William Smeal, Nubia Colussi, from my Brazilian Women Writers class (POR 383) will slowly create an inventory of at least a couple of books. This inventory will be an extraordinary research tool for scholars throughout. I hope to have it available in December, sent to the British Library under project EAP 753 and obviously leave another copy here.
As of yet, I have been able to do a little research already, and two presentations, one at Miami University in the Harry T. Wilks Global Citizenship Forum presentations, and another on Cleveland State University, Crossing Over Symposium. Both presentations proved to be an excellent manner of engaging with two more students, Johnnie Jackson, a PhD Education graduate - congrats Johnnie as everything but the dissertation is completed - and Sara Giska, a previous undergraduate Portuguese student, many congrats on her well deserved grant from the US government as she continues her Portuguese studies. A great panel to work with and learn from. A third presentation is already in the horizon as I prepare to share with my own department, Spanish and Portuguese at Miami. I would like to thank Shelly Bromberg and Kimberly Richendollar for their support throughout the trip and after.
Finally, so you don't get too bored, a thousand thanks to the British Library, specifically to Catherine Collins and Jody Butterworth - without their support nothing would have happened!
