Department
Welcomes Robert Moser, Assistant Professor of Portuguese
Robert
Moser (B.A. UC Berkeley, 1991; M.A. Brown, 1996; Ph.D. Brown,
2002) joined the faculty of the Romance Languages Department in
August of 2002, where he will teach Portuguese and Brazilian literature.
His dissertation, “The Carnivalesque Defunto: Death and the Dead
in Modern Brazilian Literature ,” was awarded the Joukowsky Outstanding
Dissertation Award in the Humanities at Brown University. One
of Dr. Moser’s articles stemming from this research will appear
in a forthcoming volume of essays entitled “Representations of
the Dead” (Univ. of Wisconsin Press). In an interview, Dr. Moser
discusses his plans for research and teaching at the University
of Georgia.
Romance
Languages Newsletter:
What are your plans for research now that you have joined the
UGA faculty?
Moser:
I’m currently expanding my dissertation into a book that will
delve deeper into the question of how 19th and 20th
century Brazilian literature represents the dead, with reference
to both literary form and social function. Of particular importance
to me are questions about how the novel and the memoir handle
“deceased narration.” A pivotal figure in this regard is Machado
de Assis, perhaps Brazil’s greatest writer, who showed a keen
interest in the question of narration from beyond the grave.
Overall, I believe that the ongoing link between the living and
the dead found in Brazilian literature resonates more widely than
it does in Anglo-American culture.
RLN:
How is this fascination with deceased narration shaping your plans
for teaching?
Moser:
I look forward to teaching a course that explores the intersections
between the literary world and the spirit world, encompassing
practices that are central to Brazilian culture, such as candomblé
and spiritism. In particular, I want to encourage American students
to think about how Brazilian modes of day-to-day contact with
ancestors might have parallels in their own culture.
Beyond this single course, I will strive to build bridges between
my specific interest in Brazilian literature and culture and the
research of colleagues whose work focuses on Spanish America and
the Caribbean. The issues I am exploring have many compelling
parallels in Spanish-speaking societies of the Americas, so I
plan to seek opportunities to collaborate, whether in the planning
of conferences or the collaborative design of interdisciplinary
courses.
Another project I want to pursue in this regard is to establish
links to Georgia’s growing Portuguese-speaking communities. I
am excited about how interdisciplinary projects related to teaching
and research could be extended to service and outreach.
MORE
ABOUT ROBERT MOSER
His wife, Anne Moser, now works as the Director of Development
in the College of Environment and Design. They are expecting
their first child in the spring (http://www.uga.edu/columns/021007/news8.html).
In common with many Brazilians, Robert practices capoeira,
the Afro-Brazilian martial art, and enjoys playing soccer. He
also loves to kayak and is now looking for “fellow paddlers.”
