Isabel Capeloa Gil is Full Professor of Culture Studies at the School of Human Sciences,
Rector of the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP) and President of the International
Federation of Catholic Universities. She studied in Lisbon (U. Lisbon), Munich (Ludwig
Maximilian University) and Chicago and holds a PhD in German Studies from UCP.
Previously, she was Vice-Rector for Research and Internationalization (2012-2016) and the
Dean of the School of Human Sciences (2005-2012) of the Catholic University of Portugal
(UCP). Having grown up in Asia (Macao), Isabel Gil has been especially interested in
researching issues of diversity and conflict and has structured her work around the
exploration of the disciplinary boundaries between literature, the arts and other
disciplines.
She is a passionate advocate of international education and works consistently to develop
international research networks, exploring the different ways in which the practice of the
arts and humanities is pivotal to advance a more sustainable and intellectually robust
global education agenda. Her research is currently published in Portuguese, English,
German, French, Italian and Spanish. She is the author of over 140 publications, bridging
cultural theory, interarts studies, visual culture, culture and conflict and her work has been
published in New German Critique, Dedalus or Colloquia Germanica, amongst many other
journals. Her most recent books are The Cultural Life of Money (co-edited with Helena
Gonçalves) Humanities. Untimely Considerations (2016), and the catalog Ballet Russes. Modern
Times After Dhiaghilev (co-edited Paulo Campis Pinto) for the Ballet Russes exhibition in
Lisbon (2018). She was a founding member and is a senior researcher at the Research
Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC), where she coordinated the research group
Culture, Art and Citizenship (CULTCIT). Isabel Gil is furthermore Honorary Fellow at the
IGRS, School of Advanced Studies, University of London and holds a position as Visiting
Professor at USJ (Macao). Previously she has been a Visiting Professor at Stanford
University’s Spogli Center, at National University of Ireland or PUC-Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
She is a member of the Advisory Board at the Gulbenkian Foundation.