Portuguese Paleography Workshop

Free Workshop on Early-Modern Portuguese Paleography in Berkeley and Lisbon

Manuscripts of the Portuguese Expansion (15th–17th Centuries): Palaeographic Reading and Historical-Linguistic Analysis

The UC Berkeley Center for Portuguese Studies (CPS), under the direction of Prof. Jeroen Dewulf, is offering a free workshop on early-modern Portuguese paleography and language – Manuscripts of the Portuguese Expansion (15th–17th Centuries): Palaeographic Reading and Historical-Linguistic Analysis – in cooperation with the University of Lisbon – Center of History, Center of Linguistics and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. The workshop consists of two sections, each with a one-week duration, that are free of charge and can be taken separately. The first one-week section takes place on the UC Berkeley campus and provides students with an introduction to reading strategies of early-modern Portuguese handwritten texts, taught by two visiting professors from the University of Lisbon Center of History and Center of Linguistics, Dr. Filipa Roldão and Dr. Elena Lombardo. The second one-week section consists of an archival workshop in Lisbon with guided visits to Portugal’s main repositories for historical records, including the National Archive - Torre do Tombo, National Library, Overseas Historical Archive, Academy of Sciences, and Lisbon Geographic Society. Students will also be able to participate in a summer course at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon, with Portuguese experts in fields such as colonial history, paleography, diplomatics, philology, history of Portuguese language, digital editions, among others. During this course, students will also have the opportunity to present their research projects in short oral presentations. 

Enrollment is open to doctoral students and junior faculty from all US and Canadian universities, in all fields. The workshop is free of charge and bares no academic credit. Participants are expected to have completed at least one full year of Portuguese language study or to have advanced reading knowledge in Spanish.

The workshop is restricted to 20 participants.

Selected participants are offered:

  • Tuition-free workshop in Berkeley and Lisbon

  • Breakfast and lunch in Berkeley for the duration of the Berkeley part of the program

Participants are expected to cover all remaining costs, including travel and accommodation costs to/in Berkeley and Lisbon, health & travel insurance. All selected doctoral students from UC Berkeley will be offered a CPS grant to cover travel and accommodation costs to/in Lisbon.

Program description:

At UC Berkeley, Institute of European Studies

Monday, June 7, 2027: Start paleography workshop. Manuscripts on African History 

Tuesday, June 8, 2027: Manuscripts on Southeast Asian History

Wednesday, June 9, 2027: Manuscripts on Southeast Asian History

Thursday, June 10, 2027: Manuscripts on the History of the Americas

Friday, June 11, 2027: Last day of paleography workshop in Berkeley. Manuscripts on the History of the Americas

Saturday, June 12, 2027: Travel to Lisbon

At University of Lisbon, School of Arts and Humanities

Monday, June 14, 2027: Start visiting program to Portugal’s main repositories for historical records. Summer course on Portuguese Manuscripts at School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon

Tuesday, June 15, 2027: Guided visit to archives and libraries. Summer course on Portuguese Manuscripts at School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon

Wednesday, June 16, 2027: Guided visit to archives and libraries. Summer course on Portuguese Manuscripts at School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon

Thursday, June 17, 2027: Guided visit to archives and libraries. Summer course on Portuguese Manuscripts at School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon

Friday, June 18, 2027: Last day of guided visits and summer course in Portugal, end of the program

Application process:

Interested candidates are requested to submit the following materials:

  • a letter of purpose that endorses the usefulness of the workshop to the candidate’s research (2 pages)

  • a short CV (2 pages)

  • doctoral students are expected to also submit one letter of recommendation by a faculty member of their university. This letter can be sent directly to the e-mail address mentioned below

All applications, along with supporting documents, should be emailed to Sydney Weaver at sgw4@berkeley.edu with Portuguese Paleography Workshop in the subject line. They are due February 15, 2027.