Modern languages and literatures faculty member earns prestigious NEH fellowship

Gonzalo Aguiar Malosetti of SUNY Oswego’s department of modern languages and literatures has earned a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar Fellowship for his book project,"Tropes of Violent Inequality: Brazilian Crime Fiction in a Post-Neoliberal Age."

The award comes with an invitation to a future seminar, “The Making of Modern Brazil,” which will connect top teachers and scholars in this field in an environment to “exchange ideas, readings and research at various stages of completion,” Aguiar Malosetti explained. 

“The most exciting part of it is the opportunity to establish an interdisciplinary dialogue with colleagues across the nation to advance new knowledge about Brazil’s social, racial, political and environmental challenges in the 21st century,” he said. 

The seminar includes a variety of readings that connect participants with such avenues as anthropology, cinema studies, cultural studies, gender studies, history, linguistics, literary studies, performing arts, sociology and urban studies. 

“My research is about crime, violence and securitization in contemporary Brazil, so I regard this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dive in and speed up the completion of my second book project,” Aguiar Malosetti said. 

Supportive environment

Aguiar Malosetti said the fellowship would not have been possible without the college providing him so many opportunities to develop extracurricular programs about Brazil as a modern languages and literatures faculty member and as a former resident mentor in Hart Hall. 

“The IGE Year of Brazil, which took place in the 2016-2017 academic year, was a great starting point for me to test the waters prior to developing extracurricular programs about Brazil in connection with my Portuguese courses in the department,” Aguiar Malosetti said.  

He credited Ulises Mejias of the communication studies faculty, who coordinated the program for the college’s Institute for Global Engagement, “for giving me the opportunity to present my research during that wonderful year filled with academic and social activities.” 

Aguiar Malosetti also praised the “incredibly supportive” modern languages and literatures department and its faculty including Tracy Lewis, Georgina Whittingham and former chair John Lalande. He also thanked the “helpful and vital” team at Penfield Library, particularly Michelle Bishop and everybody behind the Interlibrary Loan system for their aid in his research.

“Being a faculty resident mentor was also a transformative experience for me because I learned how to communicate the subtleties of Brazilian culture using performative teaching techniques that help you communicate contents in a clear, straightforward manner,” Aguiar Malosetti added. “It is a highly recommended experience for those who want to establish a dialogue with the campus community, students and peers alike.”