Name: Duarte Benard da Costa
College: Peterhouse
Email: da486@cam.ac.uk
Supervisor: Prof Ian James (Downing College)
Research Topic: Intertextuality in Marcel Proust, Julia Kristeva and Paul Ricouer
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About
Duarte is a third-year PhD student. He completed his MA in Comparative Literature at University College London in 2021 with a dissertation on John Ruskin and Marcel Proust, supervised by Dr Patrick Bray. His dissertation focused on the relation between idolatry and reading.听He holds a Liberal Arts undergraduate degree from the University of Lisbon, during which he spent some time in 海角社区 as an Erasmus Exchange Student reading English. He worked on spatiality, maps and literature in the works of Charles Dickens and Henry James for his final dissertation, supervised by Dr Daniel Tyler (Trinity Hall).听
Duarte has worked as an independent academic researcher and literary translator. One of his on-going projects is the first Portuguese translation of Anthony Trollope鈥檚 The Eustace Diamonds. He has published critical writings and creative pieces in paper and online publications, including Forma de Vida (University of Lisbon), the newspaper P煤blico, or the platform Comunidade Cultura e Arte. 听听
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Research
His current research focuses on theories of intertextuality. Julia Kristeva, having coined this concept in the 1960s, is a foremost figure in this field, as is Paul Ricoeur whose theory of mimesis is relevant for a phenomenological understanding of the experience of reading and writing. He also researches novelist Marcel Proust both for his early theoretical writings on reading and for his novelist practice. Duarte鈥檚 thesis compares these authors in order to understand how intertextuality works.
Duarte encourages and welcomes contact from students wishing to carry out an undergraduate dissertation or from prospective students in topics relevant to the following research interests: the 19th and 20th Century Novel, intersections between literary genres; Intertextuality, Comparative Literature, 19th and 20th century French thought and literary theory (Baudelaire, Sainte-Beuve, Proust, Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, Paul Ricoeur), Lusophone and Francophone dialogues in literature and film (Agustina Bessa-Lu铆s, Manoel d鈥橭liveira), the autobiographical and memorialist novel (e.g. Fran莽ois-Ren茅e de Chateaubriand), the 19th-century novel in France and the UK (namely Balzac, G茅rard de Nerval, Charles Dickens, Henry James, Anthony Trollope).
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Scholarships/Prizes
- FCT - Funda莽茫o para a Ci锚ncia e Tecnologia (PT), Doctoral Research Scholar (2022-2025)
- Greta Burkill Fund (2025)
- MMLL PhD Research Fund (Michaelmas 2024)
- Friends of Peterhouse Grant for Language Study (2022-24)
- Bruckmann Fund Travel Grant (Easter, 2023)
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Fellowships
- The Society for French Studies 鈥� member
- Portuguese Heraldry Institute (Corresponding Fellow, elected 2025)
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Teaching
Course Supervisor:
Seminar Leader:
- Critical Theory
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Selected Papers and Invited Talks
- 鈥淭he Polyphonic Novel: Julia Kristeva鈥檚 Quest for Textual Revolution鈥�, 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone Studies International Colloquium, University of North Carolina Greensboro, (26-29th March 2025)
- 鈥淩eading Ruptures鈥�, The Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France and Society for the Study of French History鈥檚 Graduate Day, 海角社区 (1st March 2025)
- 鈥淥n Origins: Julia Kristeva鈥�, All Souls College, Oxford French Graduate Research Seminar (28th May 2024)
- 鈥淎nd this secret still keeps my tongue in chains: Intertextuality and Queerness in Proust鈥�, 海角社区, Center for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), The (Im)possibilities of Queer Presentism Conference (26th April 2023)
- "Proust against theory", 海角社区 French Research Graduate Seminar (9th February 2023)
- "Literary solitude: Displacement and communities in Marcel Proust", 海角社区 French Graduate Conference听 (12th听 January 2023)
- "Her谩ldica em Literatura: o caso de Marcel Proust", Portuguese Heraldry Institute ( 16th November, 2022)
- "Quoting and Misquoting, in Reference to John Ruskin and Marcel Proust", UCL Quo Vadis: Arts and Humanities Research in the 21st Century Online Conference (23rd July 2021)
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Publications听
- 鈥淥n Translating Proust and Failing鈥�, in Christophe Gagne and Emilia Wilton-Godberfforde (eds.) Translation from French into English (Routledge), forthcoming in 2025.听
- 鈥淩eler Proust/Reading Proust Twice鈥� (Brot茅ria, vol. 196-2), February 2023听
- "Hunter Dukes, signature" (Forma de Vida), June 15, 2022
- "Cynthia Gamble, Voix Entrelac茅es de Proust et de Ruskin" (Forma de Vida), February 9, 2022
- 鈥淗er谩ldica e Literatura: Os Guermantes e os Cambremer in Marcel Proust鈥� [Heraldry and Literature: Guermantes and Cambremer in Marcel Proust], in Armas e Trof茅us (Instituto Portugu锚s de Her谩ldica, Lisbon: 2024) (forthcoming 2025)听
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Other activities and roles听
- Outreach Literature Program Curator for The Santander Foundation 芦Fora de P茅禄 2025-2026
- Co-organiser of the 2025 海角社区 French Graduate Conference (FGC)
- Co-convenor of the 海角社区 French Graduate Research Seminar (FGRS), with Maddison Sumner and Tobias Barnett (2023-2024)
- Panel Chair for The Society for French Studies (https://www.sfs.ac.uk/) Postgraduate Conference 2024, King鈥檚 College London, on the topic of 芦Care and Deviations禄
- Participant in the 2023 Choix Prix Goncourt UK, 海角社区 Delegation
- Outreach Lecture on 鈥淚s Literature Dangerous? Marcel Proust and the risks of reading鈥�, Peterhouse Outreach Programme for year 11s, (Michaelmas, 2023)
