THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
CURRICULUM VITAE
NAME
LORENA B. ELLIS, Ph.D.
Title: Professor
COLLEGE
Queensborough Community College
Department: For. Lang. and Literatures
Creative Activities and/or Research Now In Progress
Catholic missionaries in the “Rio de la Plata” region including Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, and their work
related to culture with the Guarani Indians. A lot of information is available in English about the pre-Columbian
cultures in America, such as the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, but little about the Tupi and the Guarani cultures
prevalent in Brazil and in areas where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet. While researching in South
America on the missionaries work, I will be able to meet with the author of the book, Dr. Antonio Pedro Tota,
and discuss details of the translation of his book. (see 2). Tota, a history professor at PUC SP (Pontifícia
Universidade Católica de São Paulo), is also going to be very helpful in establishing connections with local
institutions.
Preliminary discussions to translation of the book by Antonio Pedro Tota: O Amigo Americano Nelson
Rockefeller e o Brasil in print Cia. de Letras, July 2013. I translated the previous book by the same author, The
Seduction of Brazil, which dealt with the American cultural influence in Brazil. It was published by University
Texas Press in 2009. We read and discuss the introduction of this book in the LS402 course (Latin American
and Caribbean Cultures). The whole book was discussed in Fall 2010 when LS402 was offered as a Learning
Community with HI141 Latin American History. As stated in Dr. Visoni’s review of the book: “Professor Tota’s
book is very good at examining the cultural perceptions and attitudes prevalent among Brazilians and
Americans towards each other’s cultures.” http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/ForeignLanguages/RVCI/resenalellis.html
Tota’s new book is a continuation of Nelson Rockefeller connection with the cultural exchange between the two
countries. Once translated, it will be available to be used in the LS402 class or in other classes interested in US
relations with Latin American countries.
Collecting information on the „1933 Book Burning“ in Germany to prepare a webpage for the QCC Holocaust
Ctr.with names and mini-bios of „burned“ authors. Plan to attend the „Berlin Summer Academy: The
Holocaust & Present-day Jewish Life in Germany,“ a one-week workshop in Summer 2014