Elisa Maria Serra Porteiro

My research is mainly in the areas of Theatre and Performance, Translation, Cultural History, and Galician Studies. I also take an active interest in innovative pedagogies in languages and cultural studies, with particular attention to inclusivity and learner diversity, and to the application of creative writing, mediation, and performative approaches in the classroom.  

As an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholar (2012-2015), I completed my PhD in Hispanic Studies on the translations of Irish drama for the Galician stage. I hold a MA in Drama and Theatre Studies (UCC) and a Licenciatura in English Philology (Universidade da Coruña).  

My monograph, Performing Irishness: Irish Drama on the Galician Stage (Peter Lang, 2021) is a cultural history of translations of Irish theatrical texts to the Galician language that integrates detailed diachronic mapping with in-depth analysis of performance aspects, the contextual impact of the translations and the multilayered, collaborative nature of theatre practice. 

I am a member of the CACSSS Community Engagement Committee, and review editor for Galicia 21. Journal of Contemporary Galician Studies.  

Digital Badges:  

• Inclusive Teaching and Learning 

• Universal Design for Learning 

• Bystander Intervention 

• Connected Curriculum 

• Postgraduate Research Supervision 

I welcome proposals for collaboration or supervision of research projects in these areas. 

• International reception of Irish drama. 

• Cultural history of theatre and performance in the Iberian context. 

• Theatre translation.  

• Cultural production in minoritized languages, literary canon and national identity. 

• Post literary phenomena and literature beyond the book. 

• Inclusive, equity-minded and performative approaches to the teaching of languages and cultural studies.  

Current PhD supervision:  

• Helena Rezende Ramires, "Portuguese as a Heritage Language in Ireland: A proposal for teacher training" (2024-). [Primary supervisor, with Dr. Aisling O’Donnell] 

• Magali Segovia, "Unravelling Irishness: Gendered identities in diasporic Irish cultural printed press in early 20th-century Argentina" (2025-). Dr. Cara Levey Memorial Scholarship Awardee [Second supervisor, with Dr. Yairen Jerez Columbié] 

Past PhD supervisions: 

Dr. Eva Cabrejas Regadera. Resistencia y solidaridad a través de la producción cultural de mujeres zapatistas y mayas: muralismo, teatro y video/web (1994-presente). (UCC, 2022) [With Prof. Nuala Finnegan] 

Dr. Ana R. Lessa. The framework of the oppressed in translation? Analysis of the translational processes involved in the transmission and mobility of the work of Augusto Boal. (UCC, 2023) [With Prof. Helena Buffery] 

I am committed to the continuous development of content and methodologies, with a special interest in performative and ludic approaches to the teaching of translation and cultural studies. 

I contribute to a range of modules, both within the Department and at School level, mainly around two key areas that closely link in with my research: Translation Studies and Theatre History.  

Modules: 

• WL4103 Introduction to Translation Studies [Coordinator]  

• HS2011 Contemporary Hispanic Theatre [Coordinator]  

• HS3013 Text and Performance in Contemporary Iberia [Coordinator]  

• HS3001 Final Year Spanish Language (Translation)  

• HS5011 Landmarks in Spanish and Latin American Literature  

• HS5017 Literary and Cinematic Responses to Global Challenges in the Spanish-Speaking World  

• HS6003 Advanced Translation Skills  

• LL6037 Migration and Culture 

Programmes:  

• BA/BA International  

• BA World Languages  

• BComm International (Hispanic Studies)/BSc International Business with Spanish 

• HDip in Spanish for Teachers (Post-Primary)  

• MA in Translation Studies  

• MA in Migration, Mobility and Culture