PhD Dissertation Prospectus defense in the Department of Portuguese, PhD program in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory
On Zoom
Prof. Viktor Mendes
4018349070
vmendes@umassd.edu
https://umassd.zoom.us/j/7166305301?pwd=SXQ3VlpSWXk0RFBCZnZ2ZDVvYzU2dz09
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
College of Arts & Sciences
Department of Portuguese
PhD program in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory
PhD Dissertation Prospectus defesce
Title: Conversions and Second Lives in Acts 9, Machado de Assis (1881), Pascoaes (1934), and Saramago (1991): Conversion, Writing, and Resignification
PhD Candidate: Valdir Miranda
PhD Advisor: Prof. Viktor Mendes
Committee members: Prof. António Ladeira & Prof. Dário Borim Jr.
Abstract:
This dissertation examines the theological concept of conversion as a "second life" — the death of the old self and the birth of the new — and its literary reworkings in Portuguese-language literature. Taking Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) as its matrix, the study reads Machado de Assis's ironic rewriting of the episode in The Postumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas (Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas, 1881), Teixeira de Pascoaes's poetic biography Saint Paul (São Paulo, 1934), and José Saramago's The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (O Evangelho Segundo Jesus Cristo, 1991), in dialogue with Augustine, Ellen G. White, and modern theories of conversion and identity (James, Rambo, Taylor). This PhD dissertation asks how conversion becomes literature — and how literature, in turn, seeks to convert its readers.
Bioblurb. Valdir Miranda, originally from Cape Verde, is an educator, researcher, community leader, pastor, speaker, and mentor. He is currently completing his PhD in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. His international academic background includes studies in Theology, Educational Management, English as a foreign language, and Holistic Psychology and Coaching in Cape Verde, Ghana, Brazil, Hungary, Spain, and the United States. Valdir teaches Portuguese at UMass Dartmouth, English at Massasoit Community College, and coordinates English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs. He also serves as President of a Nonprofit organization in Brockton, Massachusetts. His work is driven by education, faith, leadership, and community development. On Sundays, Valdir enjoys playing soccer with his friends.