Maria Helena Lima

Dr. Maria Helena Lima is Professor of English at SUNY Geneseo, where she directs the Comparative Literature program. She holds a PhD from the University of Maryland and specializes in Black Atlantic writing, postcolonial literatures, and feminist theory. Her pioneering 2015 course on 'Black Lives Matter' was the first of its kind at Geneseo.

Her research examines neo-slave narratives, Caribbean literature, and the works of Black British authors such as Andrea Levy. Recent scholarship includes co-editing a special Callaloo issue on contemporary neo-slave narratives and analyzing narrative strategies in African diaspora literature. Dr. Lima has published translations of Afro-Brazilian women's fiction and developed pedagogical approaches to postcolonial studies.

She teaches courses on Black British literature, the Haitian diaspora, and interdisciplinary humanities seminars. Her analytical approach connects literary studies with historical and cultural contexts of colonialism and resistance.