Portuguese & Lusophone-World Lecture Series

Thursday, December 1

John Dos Passos - The Man, the Works, and the Portuguese Heritage with Bernardo de Vasconcelos

Assistant professor at the University of Madeira in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Bernardo de Vasconcelos, will speak upon the importance of John Dos Passos and his work, and the inherent and binding transatlantic connection. Currently on a mobility program as Coordinator of the John Dos Passos Cultural Center, Bernardo aims his efforts at raising awareness, as well as his goal to strengthen ties with all institutions, namely American, through the Center. In this hour-long talk, Bernardo de Vasconelos will  also shed light on Dos Passos’s thoughts concerning his Portuguese heritage and the preparation of what was to become The Portugal Story. Bernardo holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literatures, a Master’s in English Linguistics, a PhD in Applied Linguistics, and also completed an Executive MBA in International Business Management. 

About John Dos Passos

Grandson to a Madeiran, who emigrated to the United States back in 1830, John Roderigo Dos Passos, as did his father John Randolph, sought to maintain ties with Portugal and that little island in the Atlantic, home to his ancestors from their father’s side.

Having first visited Madeira in May 1905 for a three-week stay, as a nine-year-old and in the company of his parents, Dos Passos next stopped at Funchal in 1921, en route to Lisbon, with E. E. Cummings as a travel companion. But it was only in July 1960 that Dos Passos fully gained perception of Madeira during his one week stay, in the company of his wife Elizabeth and his daughter Lucy, confirming his childhood reminiscences. This visit was much celebrated in the local press with interviews and extensive news reports on Dos Passos’s visit to the island and especially to Ponta do Sol, the village where his grandfather was born and where he was received by the Mayor at the Town Hall in a highly participated public session and then had the opportunity for a moment of conviviality with his relatives.