Selma Vital earned her Ph.D. in Luso Brazilian Literatures in 2009 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her main interests include issues of race and gender representation in the fin de siècle literature in Brazil, above all focusing on Machado de Assis’s short stories and the works by Lima Barreto. She has published articles on both authors and written study guides for two of the main short stories by Machado de Assis, “O Espelho” and “Teoria do Medalhão” (Assis, Machado de. Missa do Galo e Outros Contos, Vol.1, New York: Atlantico Books, 2009).
She has recently started a new research project with a David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies summer library grant. This new research deals with women’s literacy in Brazil at the turn of twentieth century and the implications of a rising female readership.
Dr. Vital was a journalist for a decade in Brazil, her home country. In the US she has been teaching Portuguese at all levels since 1999. At Washington University she teaches Port 101, 103, 215 (Fall) and Port 102, 104, 220 (Spring). Her teaching philosophy focuses on engaging students with the main features of Brazilian culture and life style. She created and presently coordinates a weekly conversational table open to all levels of proficiency. The meetings occur every Wednesday, from 12-1 PM at Holmes Lounge. Students, faculties, staff and community are invited to join.
