Visiting academics from Brazil at the Department of Communication Studies
(02.04.2025) We are delighted to welcome two visiting academics from Brazil to the IfK: Prof Dr Ana Larissa Oliveira and Dr Bruna Távora.
Prof. Dr Ana Larissa Oliveira, Professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), will take over the Brazil Chair at the University of Münster and will continue her research on ‘The new boundaries of the sayable in political discourse: the language of conflict as a challenge to pluralist societies’. Her focus is on the effects of hate speech and verbal attacks on minorities. This year, the Brazil Chair is based at the IfK with Prof Dr Julia Metag.
Prof. Dr Ana Larissa Oliveira graduated in Portuguese-English Linguistics and Literature from the Federal University of Mato Grosso in 1993 (UFMT) and obtained a Master's degree in Education from the same university (1997). At the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), she obtained a PhD in Linguistics and Literature (2006). Prof Dr Oliveira has also completed a postdoctorate at the University of Lancaster and another at the University of Southampton in England (2024). She coordinates the project ‘Digitally mediated far-right discourse in Brazil and its effects on the rights of women and LGBTQA+ community’, which involves researchers from four Brazilian universities (UFMG, UFPR, UnB and UERJ) and the University of Lancaster, and is a member of the Linguistic Politeness Research Group (LPRG).
The 12-month visiting professorship, funded by CAPES, promotes bilateral research cooperation between Brazil and Germany. Oliveira works across disciplines and has collaborated with other academics worldwide to study the negative effects of hate speech on democracies, especially in polarised societies. The University of Münster has maintained intensive contacts with academics and universities in Brazil for more than 50 years. Since 2010, these collaborations have been bundled by the Brazil Centre: an interdisciplinary network of researchers at the University of Münster who are active in Brazil. Since 2010, there has been a cooperation agreement with the largest Brazilian funding agency CAPES, under which the so-called Brazil Chair (‘Cátedra Brasil’) was established at the University of Münster. This guest chair for academics from Brazil is funded by CAPES and covers a period of 6 to 24 months. There are more than ten such visiting chairs worldwide, including at the universities of Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Sorbonne, Bologna, Coimbra, Bonn and Tübingen.
The visiting professorship is linked to the Brazil Centre and is open to all disciplines. The call for applications for the Brazil Chair at the University of Münster was made in the 2024/25 round on the topic of "Agonistic Plurality. Deep disagreements and fundamental conflicts as a challenge to pluralist societies" - one of the University of Münster's new research focuses, in which Julia Metag is involved, among others.
Bruna Távora will conduct research on narratives and conflicts between social movements and far-right politicians within the hybrid media system as part of the Women-in-Research-Fellowship (WiRe) with Prof Dr Thorsten Quandt at the IfK.
Dr Bruna Távora is a communication scientist with a background in Latin American research. Her work focuses on political communication and socio-ecological issues and conflicts. Bruna Távora has extensive experience in conducting research projects in collaboration with social movements in Brazil, using participatory approaches to data collection and qualitative analysis. As a communication scientist, she has worked mainly in the field of science communication, improving access to scientific knowledge for different target groups. She also has extensive experience in university teaching and has taught in Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Mexico.
In collaboration with the team at the Chair of Online Communication, Távora will deepen her work on social issues and disinformation using computational methods. Specifically, she will investigate conflicts between right-wing extremists and environmental issues by analysing digital data and working to better understand the connections and political communication strategies of different political actors in Brazil and Germany.
WiRe is a funding programme for international postdoctoral researchers at the University of Münster. The WiRe programme was set up by the Researchers & Staff department of the International Office to meet the special needs of young female academics. During their fellowship, WiRe scholarship holders conduct research in cooperation with a professor at the University of Münster and are given the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the research and development opportunities for excellent young female academics in Münster. Amongst other things, the initiation fellowship is intended to provide the opportunity to explore opportunities for further career prospects at our university and to initiate and strengthen collaborations.
Contact person public relations:
Dr. Stephan Völlmicke
Telefon: +49 251 83-23006
Telefax: +49 251 83-21310 (Geschäftszimmer IfK)