Steven Eric Byrd, Ph.D.
Location
Steven ("Esteban") Byrd came to 勛圖惇蹋 from the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Ph.D. in Iberian and Latin American Linguistics. He also has studied in Mexico, at the Universidad de las Am矇ricas-Puebla, where he earned an M.A. in Language and Literature, and in Brazil as a study abroad student, at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. His teaching includes a variety of courses in Spanish, linguistics, literature, and Latin American culture. He has taken 勛圖惇蹋 students to a variety of countries as part of his teaching and service, including Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, and Cuba. In 2013 he was awarded the prestigious Debra J. Summers Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. His research includes Afro-Brazilian language and the culinary history and culture of Brazil. His service focuses on theater and producing plays and musicals at UNE with the 勛圖惇蹋 Players drama club, for which he won a 勛圖惇蹋 Leadership Award for Student Organization Advisor of the Year in 2019. He also dabbles with creative writing, such as short stories and plays, as well as plays guitar and travels during his free time.
Credentials
Education
Research
Current research
Culinary history/culture of Brazil
Selected publications
2024. C矇u de inverno. Na rede: Narrativas infantojuvenis. Paraty, Brazil: Editora Selo Off Flip.
2017. "Comida Mineira: A 'Cultural Patrimony' of Brazil." Global Food History Vol. 4, Issue 1, pp. 78-97.
2012. Calunga and the legacy of an African language in Brazil. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
2012. The Afro-Brazilian speech of Calunga: historical, sociolinguistic, and linguistic considerations. The Journal of Pan African Studies Vol. 5, Num. 5, pp. 101-123.
2010. "The lexicon of Calunga and a lexical comparison with other forms of Afro-Brazilian speech from Minas Gerais, S瓊o Paulo, and Bahia." Research Paper Series No. 52. Latin American and Iberian Institute (University of New Mexico).
2010. The lexicon of Calunga an Afro-Brazilian speech of Minas Gerais. Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics Vol. 3, Issue 1, pp. 41-76.
2007. Calunga and Calungadores: An Afro-Brazilian speech community of Minas Gerais. Afro-Hispanic Review Vol. 26, Num. 2, pp. 27-45 (co-authored with Daniela Bassani Moraes).
2007. Calunga: uma fala afro-brasileira de Minas Gerais, sua gram獺tica e hist籀ria. Revista Internacional de Ling羹穩stica Iberoamericana Vol. V, No. 1 (9), pp. 203-224.
Other scholarly activity
2019. Teatro e drama em Arax獺. In Arax獺 em detalhes: Um novo olhar, edited by Luiz Humberto Fran癟a. Divin籀polis, Brazil: Gulliver Editora, pp. 188-201.
2018. Infamous (Famigerado) by Jo瓊o Guimar瓊es Rosa. Translated from the Portuguese by Steven Byrd. In Becoming Brazil: New fiction, poetry, and memoir, edited by Frank Stewart, Eric M.B. Becker, and Noah Perales-Estoesta. Manoa (University of Hawaii Press) Vol. 30, Num. 2, pp. 171-174.
2017. Wheres John Dewey and Paulo Freire? Ideas for recovering the lost C. Hispania Vol. 100.5, pp. 181-182 (co-authored with Samuel McReynolds).
2016. Languages as cultural ecosystems and why students should explore them. American Councils for International Education, Dec. 18, 2016. Online at:
2016. A aventura da Tazi. In Hist籀rias malucas de crian癟as, bichos e algumas assombra癟繭es, edited by Ronaldo Sim繭es Coelho and Y礙da Galv瓊o, with illustrations by Walter Lara. Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Quixote, pp. 81-85.
2015. Ancestral Andean weaving: Rescuing the past, weaving the future. The Journal for Weavers, Spinners, and Dyers Issue 254, Summer 2015, pp. 24-28.
2015. Outras terras: cr繫nicas e ensaios. Natal, Brazil: Edi癟繭es Sebo Vermelho.
See also:
See also:
Invited plenary presentation
2019. "Calunga and the legacy of an African language in Brazil." State University of New York-Albany (November 8).
2019. "Comida mineira." Arax獺 Literary Festival (Arax獺, Minas Gerais, Brazil) (June 23).
Research interests
Afro-Brazilian language
Brazil culinary history
Brazil culture