Susana de Noronha

Susana de Noronha is a Portuguese anthropologist, PhD in sociology, and researcher Centre for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES), Iscte - University Institute of Lisbon (IUL). Previously, she served as an Invited Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS) of the University of Minho (from 2022 to 2025) and as a Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra (from 2018 to 2024).

She is a founding member of AIDA - Social Sciences Research Network on Artificial Intelligence, Data, and Algorithms. Previously, she held the position of coordinator of the Center for Studies on Science, Economy, and Society (NECES-CES) and was a member of the Permanent Committee of the Scientific Council of CES (from 2020 to January 2022).

Concentrating at the crossroads of art, science, and technology studies, she has been exploring medical anthropology and anthropology of art and material culture. Her work, which is qualitative and interdisciplinary in nature, centers on experiences, narratives, and technologies related to health and illness, along with other material aspects. Presently, she is intrigued by collaborations among science, art, and communities, investigating the impact of artificial intelligence on the narratives we construct and the realities we shape. Besides her academic pursuits, she is also an illustrator, a practice that influences her academic work. Additionally, she is a poet and lyricist, with work published in three albums, one EP, and four compilations of Portuguese music. Recognized for her dozens of published scientific illustrations, she is responsible for introducing a new methodology called creative ethnographic drawing, revitalizing this practice through the use of metaphor and imagination, expanding the forms of production within the social sciences.

Published work

A Tinta, a Mariposa e a Metástase: a Arte como Experiência, Conhecimento e Ação sobre o Cancro de Mama In her first work, published in 2009, the researcher analyzes and comments on 24 artistic projects produced by women, all related to the female experience of breast cancer. The author explores how hospital, household, and personal objects intertwine with different stages of the disease, from diagnosis to death. published in 2019, Susana de Noronha gathers experiences and stories from eight Portuguese women with cancer, utilizing a qualitative, intersubjective, and transdisciplinary approach. Integrating knowledge of the body, spoken word, creative writing, photography, drawing, and painting, this project seeks an ontological, epistemological, and performative understanding of art as an integral part of the cancer experience. Throughout adolescence, as a student of art and design, her sketchbooks were filled with intricate representations of eyes, faces, hands, and trees, each serving as central themes reflecting her evolving artistic style. Drawing essentially became a defining aspect of her identity and potential. each one imbued with metaphor and imagination, enriching the discourse within her field. These illustrations serve as visual narratives, complementing and enhancing the written content of essays, articles, and book chapters. In her artistic career, she has also produced poems and lyrics, writing various songs for the projects At Freddy’s House and Pyroscaphe.