Camargo, F. B.

Biography

Dr. Fernanda Barini Camargo is a scholar in the field of Portuguese Studies, specializing in 20th and 21st-century Portuguese Literature and Film. She holds a Ph.D. in Literary Studies from UNESP – São Paulo State University, where she conducted extensive research that has contributed to the understanding of the artistic collaboration between the renowned filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira (1908-2015) and writer Agustina Bessa-Luís (1922-2019).Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to the worldwide promotion of the Portuguese language as a Portuguese as a Foreign Language Teacher and a Lecturer in Portuguese Studies.

Since 2015, Fernanda Barini Camargo has been dedicated to the study of Manoel de Oliveira's cinema, when she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Modern Languages, with a senior thesis entitled “A Literatura sob as Lentes da Câmera: uma leitura do filme Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loura, de Manoel de Oliveira” (“Literature through the Camera Lens: An Analysis of the Film Eccentricities of a blonde-haired girl, by Manoel de Oliveira”). She completed her Master's degree in 2017, with a thesis titled “Na Santa a Devassa: Figurações do Feminino em Manoel de Oliveira e Agustina Bessa-Luís” (“Under the Saint, the Libertine: Figurations of the Feminine in Manoel de Oliveira and Agustina Bessa-Luís”), in which her study This study focused on the enigmatic female protagonists in Manoel de Oliveira's films, along with their source novels, written by Agustina Bessa-Luís. She explored the interplay between cinema and literature, examining how these characters evolve, epitomizing Oliveira's portrayal of the female universe across his filmography, and thus approaching gender studies in an interdisciplinary endeavour.

In her doctoral dissertation, “Varandas Voltadas ao Douro: Ler a Casa Portuguesa na Literatura de Agustina Bessa-Luís e no Cinema de Manoel de Oliveira” (“Balconies Overlooking the Douro River: Reading the Portuguese House in Agustina Bessa-Luís' Literature and Manoel de Oliveira's Cinema”), she examined the significance attributed to houses, the Portuguese quintas, and domestic spaces within their narrative and aesthetic frameworks.

Fernanda Barini Camargo’s passion for teaching and sharing knowledge is evident through her extensive experience as an educator. As a Teaching Fellow at UNESP and a Guest Lecturer at USP (University of São Paulo), she has lectured and designed modules on topics ranging from cinematic adaptations of literary works to modernism and contemporary Portuguese women writers. Her commitment to academia has earned her accolades, including fellowships from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), which supported her doctoral research in Brazil and at Portuguese archives in Portugal, associated with Universidade Aberta (UAb), Lisbon.

Over the course of her academic career, Fernanda Barini Camargo has published in relevant journals in the realm of Portuguese Studies in Brazil and internationally. Her presentation skills are highlighted by her participation in international conferences at reputable universities, such as Harvard University, University College Cork, Sapienzà University of Rome, University of São Paulo (USP), Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), and her forthcoming scheduled panel at UCC and Universitè Sorbonne Nouvelle.