Biography

Mariana Castro is an integrated researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History (IHC). She has a Masters in Contemporary History from the NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH). Currently, she is a doctoral student in History at the same institution.

Her work focuses on the areas of Economic and Social History and police institutions in Portugal during the 20th century, namely the Fiscal Guard. She is particularly interested in topics related to economic and social history; social conflicts; justice; history of institutions and history of police and policing, targeting multiple agents; the dynamics of domination and resistance — bearing in mind an international, national, and local framework. Her Master’s Dissertation in Contemporary History was presented, in 2015, to NOVA FCSH and was entitled “Contrabando de Guerra em Elvas durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial (1914-1918)” [War Smuggling in Elvas during the First World War (1914-1918)]. Among other activities within the scope of the IHC, she has participated in the organisation of scientific events, carried out communications, and published in journals or proceedings, such as the paper “A política de Hugh Dalton e o Bloqueio Económico (1940-1942)” [The policy of Hugh Dalton and the Economic Blockade (1940-1942)], published on Revista História da Faculdade de Letras do Porto, in 2015.

Research fields

• History of contemporary Portugal
• Contemporary social and economic history
• History of institutions
• History of policing (Guarda Fiscal)
• History of smuggling (20th century)

Selected publications

• Castro, Mariana. “Jogos de Sombra: as problemáticas da informalidade e das práticas de contrabando,” estrema: Revista Interdisciplinar de Humanidades 9 (2016): 21-43. [PDF]
• Castro, Mariana. “A política de Hugh Dalton e o Bloqueio Económico (1940-1942),” História, Revista da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto 5 (2015): 53-65. [PDF]

Main projects

• Researcher in the exploratory project “Mapping and Analysing Organized Interests in Europe: From 1900 to our days” (MAOIE) — Coordinated by Paula Borges Santos and funded by NOVA FCSH.
• Collaborator of the editorial project “Os Constituintes 1975-76” — Coordinated by Maria Fernanda Rollo, Paula Borges Santos, and Ivo Veiga, and funded by the Assembly of the Republic.
• Collaborator of the editorial project “RAPortugal 1986-1999” — Coordinated by Soraia Simões and funded by the Directorate-General for the Arts. [link]