Dr. Gabriel Chagas Pereira Souza

Assistant Professor of English and of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies

Bio

Gabriel Chagas P. Souza (published as Gabriel Chagas) holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and a second Ph.D. in Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies from the University of Miami. His research lies at the intersection of Global Studies, Cultural Studies, and Comparative Literature, with a particular emphasis on literatures of the African diaspora.

His work examines twentieth-century cultural movements across the Americas, including the Harlem Renaissance, N茅gritude, and Brazilian Modernism, with sustained attention to questions of race, sexuality, class, and disability. He teaches courses in World Literature, U.S. fiction and poetry, African American literature, Latin American cultures, Disability Studies, and Art History.

Working across English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, his scholarship develops a transnational and comparative approach to literary and cultural production in the Atlantic world. His work has appeared in the Journal of Lusophone Studies, Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies, and Oxford Intersections, among other peer-reviewed venues in Brazil and Portugal. His first book, P茅rolas negras na periferia (2023), received the Ant么nio Candido National Prize for Literary Studies in Brazil.

Education

PhD, Linguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies, University of Miami, 2025
PhD, Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 2023
MA Comparative Literature, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 2019.
BA, Portuguese and English, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 2017.

Research Interests / Areas of Focus

Comparative Literature, Literatures of the African Diaspora, Brazilian and Latin American Studies, American Studies, Africana Studies, Critical Theory, Intersectionality (gender, race, and disability), and Decoloniality.

Selected Publications

Books

P茅rolas negras na periferia: Personagens femininas de Langston Hughes e Lima Barreto. Campinas, Brazil. Pontes Editores. 2023.

Peer-Reviewed Articles and Book Chapters

鈥淭he Outskirts of Afropeanity: Homosocial Connections in The Belly of the Atlantic (2003) and Luanda, Lisboa, Para铆so (2018).鈥� Oxford Intersections: Racism by Context. Oxford University Press, 2026. .  

鈥淭he Strange Force of a Queer 笔颈别迟脿: Alternative Families in Pixote: a lei do mais fraco (1980).鈥� Journal of Lusophone Studies, vol. 2, n. 2, 2026, 44-66.   

鈥淯m novo sistema liter谩rio se consolida: uma an谩lise das obras de escritoras negras entre 2003 e 2023.鈥� Revista Palimpsesto (UERJ), vol. 24, n. 48, 2025, pp. 440 鈥� 464. . With Virg铆nea Novack.

Chagas et al, "For the Children: Brazilian Portuguese and the Rainbow Scare." Inclusiveness Beyond the (Non)binary in Romance Languages: Research and Classroom Implementation, edited by Gl谩ucia V. Silva and Cristiane Soares, Routledge, 2024, pp. 33 - 49.

Chagas et al, "'Que degenerados, uma vergonha': a rea莽茫o conservadora contra a linguagem n茫o bin谩ria no discurso de posse da acad锚mica Helo铆sa Teixeira", Revista ex aequo (Revista da Associa莽茫o Portuguesa de Estudos sobre as Mulheres), no. 49, 2024, pp. 87 - 102. https://doi.org/10.22355/exaequo.2024.49.07

"Um s茅culo ap贸s, ainda 茅 preciso narrar o espanto: Melancolia e interpela莽茫o no conto "Dentes negros e cabelos azuis", de Lima Barreto." Revista Outra Travessia (UFSC), vol. 2, no. 36, 2023, pp. 100 - 122.  

"A l铆ngua dos anjos ca铆dos n茫o se ouve no Brasil: Uma leitura decolonial do conto 'O moleque', de Lima Barreto." REVELL - Revista de Estudos Liter谩rios da UEMS, vol. 2, no. 32, 2022, pp. 53-78. . 

"Langston Hughes, Lima Barreto e a inalcan莽谩vel modernidade: A segrega莽茫o racial nos Estados Unidos e a eugenia no Brasil no in铆cio do s茅culo XX." F贸lio 鈥� Revista de Letras, vol. 14, no. 2, 2022, pp. 89-108.  

"No avesso da seca, as feridas de uma linguagem imposs铆vel: Uma an谩lise comparativa de Vidas Secas, de Graciliano Ramos, e O avesso da pele, de Jeferson Ten贸rio." Santa Barbara Portuguese Studies (UC Santa Barbara), 2nd Ser., vol. 12, 2022, pp. 100-113.  

"Triste fim de Clarice Lispector ou A paix茫o segundo Lima Barreto: a linguagem prec谩ria de Macab茅a e Clara dos Anjos." O Eixo e a Roda: Revista de Literatura Brasileira, v. 30, no. 2, 2021, pp. 194-208.  

"Voltando para casa, n茫o consigo respirar: pensando os linchamentos racistas no sul dos Estados Unidos a partir da Literatura de Langston Hughes." Revista Ipotesi (UFJF), v. 24, no. 2, 2020, pp. 65-74.  

Selected Presentations

鈥淭he New California of Lima Barreto.鈥� Department of Spanish and Portuguese. Princeton University 鈥� Princeton, NJ. April 7, 2026.

鈥淣avigating an Ocean of Queerness: An Analysis of Langston Hughes鈥� s 鈥楤eyond Sandy Hook.鈥欌�� African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS). University of Pittsburgh 鈥� Pittsburgh, PA. March 27, 2026.

鈥淪tories of Pain, Paths of Survival: Race, Class, and Disability in Brazil.鈥� NeMLA 2026 (online). March 6, 2026.

鈥淭he Harlem Renaissance and Global Black Modernisms.鈥� Open Lecture at River Ridge Social Committee 鈥� Hyde Park, NY. February 4, 2026.

鈥淰aria莽茫o lingu铆stica, decolonialidade e o ensino de PLE/PLH: uma perspectiva鈥� XIV Encontro Mundial de Ensino de Portugu锚s. Duke University 鈥� Durham, NC. August 1, 2025.

"The United States in a Transnational Context: Literature, Whiteness, and the Nation." Race, Racialization, and Resistance: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Humanities. Seattle University 鈥� Seattle, WA. April 27, 2025.

"Refusing Whiteness, Embracing Queerness: A Close Reading of Langston Hughes's The Big Sea." University of Miami 2025 Graduate Conference. University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL. February 21, 2025.

"Paris 茅 uma festa? James Baldwin e os m煤ltiplos sentidos da negritude." I Confer锚ncia James Baldwin. Rio de Janeiro State University 鈥� Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. December 3, 2024.

"'Blacknesses' in Brazil, Colombia, and the United States." Center for Global Black Studies Colloquium. University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL November 15, 2024.

"Candelario Obeso y la poes铆a negra en Colombia". Spanish Program. Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL. October 29, 2024.

"Cars, Televisions, and the Promise of a Brilliant Future: Black Counterdiscourses of Lima Barreto and Carolina Maria de Jesus." American Portuguese Studies Association Conference (APSA). Brown University 鈥� Providence, RI. October 3, 2024.

"Movendo-se em preto e branco na estacidade: a performance fotogr谩fica de Jonathas Andrade." Biennal Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA XVII). San Diego State University - San Diego, CA. April 3, 2024.

"Las m煤ltiples fronteras de Manuel Zapata Olivella." Critical Ecologies and Speculative Future (Graduate Conference). University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL. March 1, 2024.

"Several Forms of Hunger: An Analysis of He visto la noche, by Manuel Zapata Olivella." LASA/AFRICA 2023 Continental Congress (online). University of Ghana 鈥� Accra, Ghana. November 18, 2023.

"Between the Islands: Blackness, Masculinity, and Homelessness in Jamaica and Manhattan." 41st Annual West Indian Literature Conference. Department of Literatures in English. University of West Indies 鈥� Kingston, Jamaica. October 12, 2023.

"How Queer was the Harlem Renaissance?" Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL. September 25, 2023.

"The Strange Force of a Queer 笔颈别迟脿: Decolonizing Gender in Pixote: a lei do mais fraco (1980)." Modern Languages and Literatures Lecture Series: Research and Teaching. University of Miami 鈥� Coral Gables, FL. September 8, 2023.

"A urgente brasilidade de Lima Barreto." Luso-brasilidades Conference (online). Real Gabinete Portugu锚s 鈥� Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. August 17, 2023.

"Em defesa da l铆ngua portuguesa e das crian莽as brasileiras: O uso da legisla莽茫o contra a linguagem neutra." World Conference of the Teaching of Portuguese. Northwestern University 鈥� Evanston, IL. August 5, 2023.

"The Violence of a Costume: A Decolonial Approach to the Short Story 'Cl贸,' by Lima Barreto." Di谩logos XX Conference. Department of Spanish and Portuguese (online). Indiana University 鈥� Bloomington, IN. February 25, 2023.

"Race and Gender in Brazil: The Colonial Wound in Lima Barreto鈥檚 Fiction." Symposium on Gender, History, and Sexuality. History Department (online). University of Texas 鈥� Austin, TX. November 28, 2022.

"An Invisible City of Invisible People: Reading Power and Place in Bacurau." American Portuguese Studies Association Conference. Brigham Young University 鈥� Provo, UT. October 7, 2022.

"Decolonialidade interseccional nos contos de Lima Barreto." 21st International Symposium of Women and Literature (online). Federal University of Sergipe 鈥� S茫o Crist贸v茫o, Brazil. August 12, 2022.

"In Our Narratives, Place Matters: How to Read the Museum as a Space of Power." 4th Annual Crossroads Humanities Student Conference (online). Nova Southeastern University 鈥� Fort Lauderdale, FL. March 26, 2022.

"The Absurdity of Thirteen Shots: Clarice Lispector and Social Justice in Brazil." 20th annual Tri-University Graduate Conference on Latin America and the Caribbean (online). University of Miami/Florida International University/Florida Atlantic University 鈥� Miami, FL. February 25, 2022.

鈥�Me, Mestizo in Miami: The Geography of Meanings to Understand Brazil.鈥� 31st Annual Graduate & Professional Symposium. Department of Portuguese and Spanish (online). University of Arizona 鈥� Tucson, AZ. February 18, 2022.

Awards and Honors

Recipient, David John Ruggiero Dissertation Award. University of Miami. Spring 2026.

Recipient, 2nd place in the 23rd Annual Tri-University Conference. University of Miami. Spring 2025.

Recipient, 2024 Kriloff Student Travel Award. University of Miami. Fall 2024.

Nominee, CAPES National Award for Brazil鈥檚 Best Ph.D. Dissertation of 2023.

Recipient, Modern Languages and Literatures 2024 Outstanding Graduate Student Award. University of Miami.

Recipient, Center for Global Black Studies 2024 Summer Fellowship Grant. University of Miami.

Nominee, Graduate School 2023鈥�2024 Outstanding Graduate Research Award. University of Miami.

Recipient, American Studies 2024鈥�2025 Distinguished Graduate Teaching Fellowship. University of Miami.

Recipient, College of Arts and Sciences 2024 Dean鈥檚 Research Summer Fellowship. University of Miami.

Recipient, Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas 2024鈥�2025 Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. University of Miami.

Recipient, Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies, and the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries 2024 Summer Research Grant. Vanderbilt University.

Recipient, 1st place in the 5th Annual Graduate and Postdoctoral Research Symposium. University of Miami. Spring 2023.

Recipient, The University of Miami Fellowship. 2021-2026.

Recipient, 1st place in the Ant么nio Candido National Award for Best Master鈥檚 Thesis in Brazil. 2020.

Image of Gabriel Chagas

Contact Information

Academic School

School of Liberal Arts

Office

Fontaine 201

Email

gabrielchagas.pereirasouza@Marist.edu

Phone

(845) 575-3000 ext. 2174