Forging Ahead Irish Studies in Brazil

Authors

  • Laura P. Z. Izarra Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/tk02sh47

Keywords:

Irish Studies, Internationalization, Latin America

Abstract

This article retraces the trajectory of Irish Studies in Brazil from its early beginnings in the 1970s to its present consolidation within national and transnational academic networks. Drawing on personal and institutional recollections, it examines the establishment of the W. B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies at the University of São Paulo and the foundational role of the Brazilian Association of Irish Studies (ABEI). The essay reflects on the creation and transformation of a field that has evolved through imagination, dialogue, and collaborative crossings. It discusses how Latin American scholars have contributed to decolonizing Irish Studies, internationalizing higher education and forging interdisciplinary bridges between the Humanities and other fields. The article concludes by proposing different strategies for sustainable institutionalization and reciprocal global exchanges that promote a comprehensive internationalization of Irish Studies in the twenty-first century.

Author Biography

  • Laura P. Z. Izarra, Universidade de São Paulo

    Is a Full Professor at the University of São Paulo, where she also coordinates the W.B. Yeats Chair of Irish Studies. She holds a Master’s (1989) and a PhD (1995) in English Linguistic and Literary Studies from the same university. Dr. Izarra furthered her post-doctoral research in 2004 at the University of London, Institute of Latin American Studies, and at Trinity College Dublin. From 2009 to 2018, she served as President of the Brazilian Association of Irish Studies (ABEI) and of the Society for Irish Latin American Studies (SILAS) from 2006 to 2009.

References

Canclini, Néstor García. La globalización imaginada. Buenos Aires: Paidós, 1999.

Cole, David R. and Joff P. N. Bradley. Principles of Transversality in Globalization and Education. Singapore: Springer, 2018.

Harte, Liam. A History of Irish Autobiography. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Hudzik, John K. Comprehensive Internationalization: From Concept to Action. NAFSA: Washington, DC, 2011.

Izarra, Laura and James Silas Rogers. “Life writing and diaspora I: the autobiography of the Irish in the USA and Latin America”. Ed. Liam Harte. A History of Irish Autobiography. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Izarra, Laura P.Z. and Thiago Moyano. Transatlantic crises of democracies: cultural approaches. São Paulo: FFLCH/WBYeats Chair, 2022.

https://www.livrosabertos.abcd.usp.br/portaldelivrosUSP/catalog/book/949

Teichler, Ulrich. “The Changing Debate of Internationalisation of Higher Education” in Higher Education. Vol. 48, No. 1 (Jul., 2004), pp. 5-26. Springer. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4151528.

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Published

03-12-2025

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2025): ABEI Journal 27.1 – Special Issue 50 Years of Diplomatic Relations Between Brazil and Ireland

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Laura P. Z. Izarra

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Izarra, L. P. Z. (2025). Forging Ahead Irish Studies in Brazil. ABEI Journal, 27(1), 47-65. https://doi.org/10.11606/tk02sh47