Student profiles
Huike Zhang
Email: huike.zhang@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
Website: zhk0621@163.com
Thesis Title
Institution
Supervisors
Dr Joseph McGonagle
Dr David Bailey
Research Summary
The research investigates traumatic memories associated with the conflicts that heralded the disintegration of Portugal’s Empire in Lusophone literature from Europe, Africa, and Asia. It focuses on how writers from different national contexts engage with the legacies of Portuguese colonialism, depict the conflicts during the decolonisation, and imagine the possibilities of healing and recovery. The work also explores how Literature creates connections across countries, fostering empathy and cross-cultural understanding among readers. Theoretically, it seeks to expand trauma studies beyond Eurocentric frameworks and foregrounds culturally specific experiences of conflicts and recovery within diverse Lusophone settings. Ultimately, the project aims to counter the fragmentation of Lusophone literary studies along regional lines and encourages trauma studies’ promise of cross-cultural ethical engagement.
Research Interests
Lusophone Literature
Trauma and Memory
Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies
Gender and Feminist Theory
Publications
coming soon