Annabelle Silva

Meet the Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Area(s) of Atlantic Study: Azores (Portugal)

Academic Background

Annabelle is an Anthropology MA student at McMaster University, specializing in socio-cultural anthropology. She has an Honours BA in Greek & Roman Studies. During her undergraduate studies, Annabelle was first introduced to how the Eurocentric bias (within Classical Studies) results in significant inaccuracies and erasure of identities and communities, through her USRA-funded research project on the Sikels of Sicily under the supervision of Dr. Spencer Pope. In her MA, her research thematically focuses on the politics of identity, memory studies, and religion and material culture. She wishes to explore the impact of Portuguese and North African Jewish immigration to the Azores, a region and culture that is now heavily Catholic.

Research Interests

Outside of her MA research thesis, Annabelle is also interested in:

• Historical Archaeology

  Politics of Space & Display

  History of Motherhood

  Women in Folklore & Mythology

  Lived Religion

Annabelle has written for other online literary magazines and also has a forthcoming publication in the University of Toronto Art Journal (Vol. 12).

Why Written in the Waves?

As a woman with an Azorean background, Annabelle has always been interested in Azorean history and wishes to provide representation for those typically ignored in Portuguese cultural history. Most specifically, she is focused on the mulheres da aldeia: the village-women. Although Annabelle’s research project focuses on an archipelago in the Atlantic, she is especially interested in creating a space that is rooted in uplifting women in academia, particularly within a region that has only focused on the histories of men.

Contact Annabelle: