About the Exhibition

In April 2024, at a workshop at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, specialists from both hemispheres and diverse fields—from the arts and humanities to earth and life sciences—gathered to discuss dunes. Despite different scientific languages, we found our perspectives complementary, as dunes are shaped by both natural forces and human values and actions. As sea-level rise and erosion threaten coastal livelihoods, vast resources are invested in some regions in preserving dunes as vital ecosystems and natural flood defences, while in others they continue to be destroyed by urbanization, tourism, and the use of sand as a raw material. In the face of environmental crisis, thoughtful choices must be made. Our interdisciplinary insights offer a unique vision of the dunes as a shared hybrid heritage, demonstrating the potential of including contributions from the sciences and the humanities in a rational and equitable adaptation to the coastal areas of the future. To involve you, dear visitor, each of us has chosen an image or object that reflects both our emotional and professional connection to the dunes—inviting you to think about it for yourself.

As you browse the exhibition, you will find the name of the contributors on the right-hand side along with short biographies.

This virtual exhibition is an output of the DUNES project (2018–2024) hosted by the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon and funded by an ERC Starting Grant (no. 802918).

Contributors

Joana Gaspar de Freitas

André Kirouac

Barbara Palmer Rousseau

Antonio Ortega Santos

Liliana N. Duarte

Nicholas Allen

Margarida Vale de Gato

Steve Mentz

Carlos Pereira da Silva

Raquel Ferreira

Ana Luiza Souza

Miguel Albuquerque

Davis de Paula

M. Luisa Martínez

Celso Aleixo Pinto

Ruwan Sampath

Once Upon a Dune: Coastal (Hi)Stories

In April 2024, during a workshop at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, specialists from different countries and backgrounds talked about dunes. In addition to the scientific topics presented, we discussed how to make our work more compelling and accessible to a wider audience. We wanted to share our plural views on coastal issues and the importance of taking this diversity into account when managing for the future, because beaches are made up of sea and sand, but also of people’s expectations and choices. This exhibition is our way to do this. Each of us has chosen an image/object that represents our personal connection with the coast. We do not want to present results or conclusions; as in a museum or art gallery, it is up to you to find meaning and to write your own script based on your impressions.

About the Exhibition

About the author

Gaspar de Freitas, Joana

Center for History of the University of Lisbon, Portugal

Joana Gaspar de Freitas is a researcher at the Center for History of the University of Lisbon. Between 2018 and 2024, she was the principal investigator of the ERC-funded project DUNES: Sea, Sand, and People, and she is a co-editor of the journal Coastal Studies and Society. Her teaching and research interests lie in the environmental history of coastal zones, with a focus on risks and vulnerability, extreme events, climate change adaptation, coastal management, and the ocean’s cultural heritage. Joana was a fellow at the Linda Hall Library in 2014 and a Carson Fellow in 2015.

Kirouac, André

André Kirouac is a recognized specialist in Canadian naval and maritime history from the seventeenth century to the Second World War. Now retired, Mr. Kirouac spent 23 years as director of the Naval Museum of Quebec, one of the five national museums of the Royal Canadian Navy. Prior to that, he was responsible for interpretation services at the Place Royale historic site in Quebec City, the berceau de l’Amérique française. His career spanning nearly fifty years in museology has given him a vast knowledge in his field of expertise. Over the years, André Kirouac has developed a unique approach to museology and history. An approach that aims to raise public awareness of the contemporary impact of past historical events, the values of peace and better living in society.

Rousseau, Barbara Palmer

University of Prince Edward Island, Canada

Barbara (Palmer) Rousseau moved from Ontario to Prince Edward Island in 2020 to return to school after a thirty-year career in software development and management. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) at UPEI, studying the environmental history of the north shore dunes and the resulting implications for the future of the Island. Barbara finds both artistic and academic inspiration in the Island’s land/seascapes and wildlife, recently publishing a book of illustrated essays about its north shore, Finding Home at the Harbour (Island Studies Press, 2024).

Ortega Santos, Antonio

University of Granada, Spain

Antonio Ortega Santos is a professor of contemporary history and lead researcher of the Research Group HUM 952 STAND (South Training Action Network of Decoloniality), as well as president of the Spanish University Network of Environmental History. He has carried out several research stays at the Institute of Ecosystems and Sustainability of UNAM (MEXICO), Yale University (USA), EHESS-CERMA, Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation (Havana), UABCS (MEXICO), Centro for History of the University of Lisbon (Portugal), and the Department of History at the Georgetown University (USA). His main field of research is environmental history focused on the study of environmental conflicts and the management of arid ecosystems, marine extractivism, and vulnerability in coastal ecosystems.

Duarte, Liliana N.

Centre for Functional Ecology (University of Coimbra) and Research Centre for Natural Resources, Environment and Society (Polytechnic University of Coimbra), Portugal

Liliana N. Duarte holds a Master’s degree in conservation biology from the University of Évora for her study of the invasion of native plant communities in Southern Portugal. Currently, Liliana is a PhD candidate in biosciences at University of Coimbra, investigating the effects of physical and biological control methods on reducing the seed bank and seed production of Acacia longifolia. Experienced in NGO projects, workshops, and conferences, she has published in journals, contributed to mapping Natura 2000 habitats, and participated in national control proposals for invasive plants.

Allen, Nicholas

University of Georgia, USA

Nicholas Allen is the director of the Willson Center and Baldwin Professor in Humanities. He has just finished a book called Late Heaney, which is a study of the poet after Seamus Heaney won the Nobel Prize. Allen’s other publications include Archipelago: A Reader (co-edited with Fiona Stafford, 2021), Ireland, Literature, and the Coast: Seatangled (2020), and Coastal Works (co-edited with Nick Groom and Jos Smith, 2017). He has been the Burns Visiting Scholar at Boston College and has received several grants and awards, including from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Irish Research Council.

Vale de Gato, Margarida

University of Lisbon, Portugal

Margarida Vale de Gato has published the poetry books Lançamento (2016), Atirar para o Torto (2021), and Mulher ao Mar (an ongoing project since 2010). As a literary translator, she has worked on Michaux, Sarraute, Twain, Poe, Nabokov, Kerouac, Murdoch, Munro, Ferlinghetti, among others. She researches and teaches American Studies and Literary Translation at the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon, ecopoetics being her main current interest with the edition of the anthology Dez Ar Mar / Ten Sea Air (2024).

Mentz, Steve

St. John's University, USA

Steve Mentz is Professor of English at St. John’s University in New York City. His recent publications include the books Sailing without Ahab (2024), An Introduction to the Blue Humanities (2023), Ocean (2020), Break Up the Anthropocene (2019), and Shipwreck Modernity (2015). He has also edited or co-edited several books, including Water and Cognition in Early Modern English Literature (2024), A Cultural History of the Sea in the Early Modern Age (2021), and Oceanic New York (2015). He blogs at The Bookfish (www.stevementz.com) and (still) tweets @stevermentz.

Pereira da Silva, Carlos

NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal

Carlos Pereira da Silva is Associate Professor at the NOVAFCSH, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in the Department of Geography and Regional Planning. His academic career is focused on teaching, research, and training in human geography and coastal management, developing innovative methodologies for assessing beach carrying capacity. Internationally, he has developed joint research in Spain, UK, Australia, and Brazil, and has been a visiting professor at the Universities of the Azores, Malaga, Lleida, Las Palmas Gran Canarias, Ulster at Coleraine, and Griffith University. He was also the Chair of the tenth International Coastal Symposium (ICS 2009) in Lisbon. Since 2010, he is the vice-president of the Coastal Education and Research Foundation.

Ferreira, Raquel Andrade

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil

Raquel Andrade Ferreira is a visual artist and PhD in visual arts from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and professor at Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), Brazil. Currently, Raquel coordinates the OfCine/IFRS, and is responsible for the Latin American Audiovisual Research Group in the 21st century.

Silveira de Souza, Ana Luíza

Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), Brazil

Ana Luiza Souza is a film and audiovisual student at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) and a geoprocessing technician graduated from the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), Rio Grande Campus, Brazil. Currently, she is a CNPq scholarship holder and a member of the Audiovisual Production Studio OfCine/IFRS.

Albuquerque, Miguel

Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil

Miguel da Guia Albuquerque is a geographer and PhD in geosciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil. A full professor at the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, Campus Rio Grande, and vice-coordinator of the Audiovisual Production Studio OfCine/IFRS, Miguel Albuquerque is also head of the Geotechnologies and Environment Research Group.

de Paula, Davis

State University of Ceará, Brazil

Davis de Paula is a geographer and PhD in Physical Geography. He is a Tenured Professor at the State University of Ceará (UECE) and holds a Research Productivity Scholarship from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). He is also a researcher of the Laboratory of Coastal and Oceanic Geology and Geomorphology (LGCO) since 2000.

Martínez, M. Luisa

Institute of Ecology, AC (INECOL), Mexico

M. Luisa Martínez is a researcher in the Functional Ecology Network, at the Institute of Ecology, A.C. (INECOL), in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. She obtained her doctorate from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Martínez is a plant ecologist focused on coastal zones, with diverse interests that encompass the dynamics of coastal zones, environmental services, mitigation of the environmental impacts of the development of renewable ocean energies, and ecosystem-based risk mitigation against the impact of storms and hurricanes. She teaches in three postgraduate courses and participates in various projects, one of them with the Civil Protection Secretariat of Veracruz. Martínez is the author of 20 books and more than 100 scientific articles.

Pinto, Celso Aleixo

Portuguese Environment Agency, Portugal

Celso Aleixo Pinto is a coastal geologist with 24 years working experience in coastal erosion risk management, coastal monitoring, and coastal protection. In his current role as the head of the Coastal Monitoring and Risk Division in the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), he is responsible for the development and implementation of the Portuguese Coastal Monitoring Program (COSMO) and the supervision of several projects related with coastal protection, cost-benefit analysis, coastal risks, and coastal processes/sediment dynamics. Pinto also carries out applied scientific research in cooperation with universities/I&D, currently focused on assessing the effectiveness, performance, and longevity of beach/shoreface nourishment projects under different geomorphological and morphodynamic conditions.

Sampath, Ruwan

D. M. R. Sampath was a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC-funded project DUNES: Sea, Sand, and People at the Centre for History of the University of Lisbon from 2019 to 2024. His main research interest is modelling the response of coastal systems to natural hazards, including sea-level rise due to climate change and extreme events such as storm surges. He focuses on risk and vulnerability assessment and the development of tools (integrated decision support systems and early warning systems) and frameworks as climate change adaptation measures for sustainable coastal zone management. Sampath also participated in the Inter-Municipal Adaptation Plan for Climate Change of Algarve to predict the coastal evolution of that region in the twenty-first century.

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Once Upon a Dune: Coastal (Hi)Stories

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