Luciana Gattass-Simanowski
Brazilian scholar of literature and media theory, with a focus on digital culture. She splits her time between Berlin and Rio de Janeiro. Her research addresses presence, narration, cosmopolitanism, and cultural power in networked and automated environments, with sustained attention to Latin American perspectives and the politics of large language models. Fluent (bilingual) in English and Portuguese, with full professional proficiency in German and French, and intermediate Spanish.
Education
- Ph.D., Literary Studies, PUC–Rio (2011, with distinction, CNPq scholarship)
- Visiting Doctoral Fellow, Brown University (2010)
- M.A., Literary Studies, PUC–Rio (2007, with distinction, CAPES scholarship)
- B.A., Film Studies, Columbia University (1999, magna cum laude)
- IB Diploma, MEC, Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro (1995)
Postdoctoral Fellowships
- CAPES-PRINT “Young Talent” Scholar, PUC–Rio (2023–2024)
- Postdoctoral Affiliate, PUC–Rio (2019–2022)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Honorary Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong (2015–2019)
- Postdoctoral Affiliate, UERJ (2013–2015)
- Postdoctoral Research Fellow & Curator, University of Bergen / ELMCIP (2012)
Film & Screen Development
- TV Globo — Production & Development "A Vida como Ela É" (1998)
- Columbia TriStar Television, New York — Development; script coverage, project research and evaluation (1999–2000)
- Columbia TriStar Films, Brazil — Development; acquisition analysis and production liaison (2000–2001)
- O2 Filmes — Assistant Executive Producer "viva Voz" (2001)
Professional experience includes screenplay development, project evaluation, script analysis, and transnational production coordination.
Editorial Experience
Extensive editorial experience in academic and cultural contexts, including peer review, manuscript development, collection curation, translation and collaborative scholarly publication. Editorial work bridges digital humanities, media theory, and contemporary debates on AI and culture.
Academic Appointments & Teaching
Teaching and research appointments span North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Courses integrate literary theory, digital humanities, and media studies, emphasizing conceptual rigor and methodological clarity.
- PUC–Rio — Graduate Program in Literature
- University of Hong Kong — Instructor; Honorary Assistant Professor
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Lecturer/Thesis advisor
- Universität Basel — Co-Instructor
- IES Abroad, Rio de Janeiro — Lecturer
- Rhode Island School of Design — Teaching Assistant
Selected Publications
- “Novos Cosmopolitismos para novos colonialismos: Grandes Modelos de Linguagem (GML) e o discurso latino-americano.” In Diálogos Latino-Americanos Digitais (PUC-Rio, 2025).
- “Of Presence and Electronic Literature.” In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Electronic Literature (Bloomsbury Academic, 2017).
- Simanowski, Roberto & Gattass-Simanowski, Luciana. “Debates in the Digital Humanities formerly known as Humanities Computing,” Electronic Book Review (2017). :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
- “Digital Humanities in Praxis: Contextualizing the Brazilian Electronic Literature Collection,” Electronic Book Review (2014).
Selected Talks
- “(Re)Democratizing AI: Contemporary Brazilian Perspectives.” REBRAC, Leiden (2024)
- “Colonialismo 2.0: Grandes Modelos de Linguagem.” PUC–Rio (2023)
- “Presença e Literatura Eletrônica.” Coimbra (2019)
- “What Presence Should Not Convey.” Open University of Hong Kong (2015)
Contact
Email: lbg10@caa.columbia.edu