Ceremony to present an Honorary MBE (Honorary Member of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) to Professor Maria Leonor Machado de Sousa in recognition of her services to UK/Portuguese Studies and Academic Relations at the British Ambassador’s Residence.
The following letter justifies the importance of this award.
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His Excellency Mr. Chris Sainty
The British Ambassador to Portugal
Professor Maria Leonor Machado de Sousa is one of the most prestigious and admired scholars in the history of the Portuguese modern Academy and has devoted is entirely live, until today, to the Anglo-Portuguese studies, which she has created late in the 1970s. Like a general who never retires from his mission to rule his troops, Professor Leonor, as we still address her in great respect, never gave up until today to lead her academic disciples. She has been not just a living inspiration to young and senior scholars, but a true ambassadress to British literature and culture for the Portuguese Academy and beyond. She has been a great teacher to many of us, a true master who has earned the gratitude of her peers crossing now several generations. From the first courses in English Studies, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level, established in late 1970s at Nova University, which she also helped in its foundation, to the Scopus indexed journal Revista de Estudos Anglo-Portugueses, which she has founded 40 years ago, the range of her works and actions is impressive. Notably, she coordinated and published Camões in England and Don Sebastian in English Literature. She was the first woman holding a professorship in English Studies in Portugal and she helped, this way, creating new opportunities to other women to start a career in this area in Portugal. She was also the first woman to chair the National Library of Portugal. She is now a distinguished member of the Portuguese Academy of History, where she keeps working on aspects of the Anglo-Portuguese relations, namely travel-writing and the Peninsular War. She also launched the English-Speaking Union in Portugal, becoming its first President. She was President of the Portuguese Association of Anglo-American Studies and Vice-President of the Byron Society in Portugal, and the first Vice-Rector of the Portuguese Open University. Finally, at NOVA FCSH, she founded the research centre that I have the honour to currently chair: CETAPS (Centre for English, Translation, and Anglo-Portuguese Studies), today evaluated by FCT as an excellent research unit.
Professor Maria Leonor Machado de Sousa has taught several generations to read not only the books, not only to drink the information they contain so that this information can be passed on to other generations. This pedagogy of reading as an inheritance gained without work has never been an option within the tradition of Anglo-Portuguese studies. Professor Maria Leonor taught us all to “go straight to the book of nature” so that our own thinking could flourish. Professor Maria Leonor’s hand has always been a helping hand that has not prevented anyone from growing up.
Professor Maria Leonor Machado de Sousa deserves the best tribute possible that the British Embassy can offer. She has been the best diplomat of the British culture and literature everywhere she has given us all the privilege to follow her teachings and intellectual leadership.
Yours sincerely,
Carlos Ceia
On the 8th of May of 2021, Professor Leonor Machado de Sousa received her MBE at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Lisbon.
