Pepetela and the MPLA: The Ethical Evolution of a Revolutionary Writer
Phillip Rothwell
Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures 3630 April 2019

  • ‘The result is a deft, nuanced and accomplished analysis not only of Pepetela and his most important works, but of contemporary Angola and the way that the MPLA has wielded its power... It is a landmark work of scholarship from one of the field’s most accomplished critics, and essential reading for scholars of Lusophone African cultures, Angolan social history and Luso-Brazilian and African literatures.’ — Lanie Millar, Bulletin of Spanish Studies 97.6, 2020, 1069-1070

From Doubt to Unbelief: Forms of Scepticism in the Iberian World
Edited by Mercedes García-Arenal and Stefania Pastore
Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Cultures 4228 August 2019

  • ‘This outstanding volume brings together thirteen essays on scepticism and religious dissent in late medieval and early modern Spain, Portugal and Italy... The joint enterprise represented by this exceptional volume ‘has led the way to a variety of new panoramas and unexpected itineraries’ (14). Anyone prompted to pursue these further will find here an indispensable resource and an inspiring example.’ — Eamonn Rodgers, Bulletin of Spanish Studies 98.3, 2021, 479-80
  • ‘Scholars of early modern Europe will find much to draw upon in these two volumes [jointly reviewed was Fuchs and García-Arenal, eds, The Quest for Certainty in Early Modern Europe: From Inquisition to Inquiry, 1550–1700]. The strongest chapters focus on religious and theological issues of doubt and uncertainty, but we get many case studies in other areas of knowledge that found ways to navigate the murky waters of the early modern world. Most of the chapters will make fruitful material for graduate seminars and reading groups, but the books’ greatest merit is how well they work together both as individual volumes and as complementary conversations. Editors of collected volumes should take note.’Erudition and the Republic of Letters 7, 2022, 355-63 (María M. Portuondo)