Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Chagas.
Hi Gabriel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have always believed that education can change our lives. Although I came from a family without much purchasing power, I was lucky enough to have access to books when I was young, and they have become the great purpose of my life. I come from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a city full of inequalities and challenges. I studied at a public university, where I got my undergraduate and master’s degrees. I came to Miami when I got a scholarship at the University of Miami to do a Ph.D. here. This was a unique opportunity to expand the ties between Brazil and the United States, a topic that has interested me a lot for some years. Besides working with research in Literary Studies, I work as a translator and dedicate my life to better understanding this relationship and contributing to the links between these two countries.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Besides the culture shock, which is inevitable, I believe that the greatest challenge in embracing another culture is to get used to this foreign position. The cultural mix of where we come from and where we are can be an indescribable richness but also a considerable challenge.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a teacher, translator, and researcher. I work with Brazilian and American culture and literature, with emphasis on the black tradition of these two countries. I received an award for best master’s thesis in Brazil for my research on two black writers and their works: Lima Barreto and Langston Hughes. I have dedicated myself to bringing to the United States more about Brazilian culture and, at the same time, to spread in Brazil African-American authors that are not yet very known there. For example, I translated into Brazilian Portuguese a small part of Langston Hughes’ work when I was in my master’s program and I have been dedicating myself more and more to promoting his books in Brazil. At the University of Miami, I work in the Modern Languages and Literature department in the Portuguese program. I think this intercultural dialogue is very important, not only in spreading these cultures but mainly in exploring a transnational antiracist dialogue that can connect the different Afro-diasporic experiences in the Americas. Much has been said theoretically about this issue in academia, but what I consider important and have been doing more and more is to expand this issue outside the University as well. I participate in radio programs, broadcasts on YouTube, and lives on Instagram precisely in an attempt to make accessible the knowledge that is sometimes produced far from the general population. In my point of view, knowledge needs to be democratic.
What matters most to you?
Making information, books, literature, History, and knowledge accessible for a general audience because it is the first step for us to build a more democratic world.
Contact Info:
- Email: gxd574@miami.edu
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/chagasgab
