Biography
Leonora Souza Paula specializes in Literary Studies and Latin American Studies, with a focus on intersections of race, gender, urban culture, and memory in contemporary Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Diasporic culture. Her current research examines the role of Black spatial imagination in the process of claiming literature and culture as a form of heritage recovery and epistemic reparation. Leonora is an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) fellow and an established public humanities scholar. Dr Paula is a Vital Voices Visionaries Fellow and received the 2024 GenCen Inspiration Award and the 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award in recognition of the public engagement work. She is a Campus Compact Engaged Scholar 25-26. Leonora is the co-founder of the Black Women Shaping AfroFutures, a global platform for Black Women Leadership and Innovation.
Works
Academic Publications
“Encruzilhadas and Black Geographies in Eliana Alves Cruz’ O Crime do Cais do Valongo.” Afro-Brazilian Literature Reader. Amherst College Press. Forthcoming
“Black Feminist Spatial Imagination and Geographies of Liberation in Indivisível.” Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism. Forthcoming.
“Um gesto de afronta.” Afterword in Quantas Tantas. Mel Adún. Salvador: Ogum’s Toques, p.137-146. 2021
“Afro-Ancestralidade and the Construction of Urban Memory in Conceição Evaristo’s Becos da Memória.” Brasil/Brazil Journal of Brazilian Literature. N. 63, Vol. 33, p.194-210. 2020
“Pixação and the Production of Spatial Justice by the Urban Excluded.” Arizona Journal of Hispanic Cultural Studies. Vol. 22, p. 151-163. 2018
“Pixação in São Paulo: Subverting the Lettered City.” In: Tambling J. (ed.) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Urban Literary Studies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 2018
“Literatura Periférica: Challenging São Paulo’s Cultural Segregation.” The International Journal of the Constructed Environment. Vol. 7 Issue 2:13-24. 2016
“Cultural Responses to Urban Violence in 21st Century Brazil: New Writers Speak from the Margins.” Hispanófila. 178.1: 67-79. 2016
“Crisis and Revolution: Activist Art in Neoliberal Buenos Aires.” Imprints of Revolution: Visual Representations of Resistance. Lisa Calvente and Guadalupe García (eds.) London: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2016
“eles eram muitos cavalos: Challenging the Regulating Fiction of the Global City.” Romance Notes. 54.1: 95-102. 2014
Public Humanities Publications
Brazil Office Alliance. “Abdias Nascimento Celebrated at African Studies Center’s 65th Anniversary – Honoring a Legacy of Black Activism and Thought.” 2025
Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra. “O Brasil renova seu compromisso com a preservação da memória, por justiça epistêmica e pelo direito à memória.” 2025
Brazil Office Alliance. “Brazil Renews its Commitment to Memory Preservation.” 2025
Global Women Leaders Voices Guest Contributor. “Why Language Matters in the Global Agenda for Gender Equality” 2024
Selected Awards and Fellowships
Creating Inclusive Excellence Award. Office of Institutional Equity. 2025
Campus Compact Engaged Scholar 2025-2026. 2025
Research Institute for Structural Change Arts and Education Fellow. 2025
Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award. Office of Institutional Equity. 2025
Strategic International Partnership Award. African Studies Center. International Studies and Programs. 2025
Digital Humanities @MSU Award. 2025
Strategic International Partnership Award. Center for Gender in Global Context. International Studies and Programs. 2024
Vital Voices Visionaries Fellow. Vital Voices Global Partnership. 2024
Inspiration Award in Community Engagement. Center for Gender in Global Context. International Studies and Programs. 2024
Curriculum Development Award. International Studies and Programs. 2023
Undergraduate Education Significant Impact. College of Arts and Letters. 2022
Research Fellowship. American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). 2021
News Mentions
Leonora Souza Paula Selected for National Engaged Scholars Initiative
College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
GenCen Names Spring 2025 Strategic Partnership Grant Awardees
English Professor Honored for Equity, Social Justice, and Community Engagement Work
2024 Inspiration Awards Recognizing Faculty and Students’ Achievements
Research Recognized for Highlighting Black Women’s Contributions to History and Culture
International Advocacy for Racial Equity an Intrinsic Part of Professor’s Research and Teaching
Race Conference’s hybrid format is a success
ACLS Women’s History Resource List
Gallery
Videos
College of Arts & Letters News
- Leonora Souza Paula Selected for National Engaged Scholars InitiativeCollege of Arts & Letters
September 2, 2025Leonora Souza Paula, Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Michigan State University, has been named to the 2025-2026 Cohort of Engaged Scholars selected by Campus Compact, a nationally recognized nonprofit that strives to strengthen partnerships between higher […] Read Now →
- College of Arts & Letters Faculty Awarded for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and InclusionCollege of Arts & Letters
January 29, 2025Three faculty members from the College of Arts & Letters are being honored by the university as recipients of 2024-25 Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Awards. These awards, presented by MSU’s Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, recognize […] Read Now →
- English Professor Honored for Equity, Social Justice, and Community Engagement WorkCollege of Arts & Letters
August 30, 2024Assistant Professor Leonora Souza Paula is being recognized for her gender equity and social justice work as the 2024 recipient of the Inspiration Award for Community Engagement. This award, which is sponsored by the Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen), recognizes […] Read Now →
- Research Recognized for Highlighting Black Women’s Contributions to History and CultureCollege of Arts & Letters
March 21, 2024For Women’s History Month, Leonora Souza Paula’s work is being featured by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) in their Women’s History Resource List as a scholarly resource that celebrates and highlights the diverse histories and historical roles of women.
- International Advocacy for Racial Equity an Intrinsic Part of Professor’s Research and TeachingCollege of Arts & Letters
December 19, 2023Leonora Souza Paula, Assistant Professor in MSU’s Department of English and affiliated faculty in the Global Studies in the Arts and Humanities Program, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Center for Gender in Global Context was invited to participate in the […] Read Now →
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