The Institute for the Study of Literature and Tradition (https://ielt.fcsh.unl.pt/) is an R&D unit of NOVA FCSH, recognised by FCT, with strategic partnerships both with national institutions (Fund. Calouste Gulbenkian, National Library, Casa Fernando Pessoa and others), as well as in research networks (Centre de Recherches Internationales sur l'Imaginaire and the Red Internacional de Universidades Lectoras, for example) and in consortia of foreign universities (Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires sur le monde Lusophone - Études Romanes of the Université Paris Nanterre, among others).
In the context of Portuguese science institutions, its mission is singularly focused on questioning the dynamic and heterogeneous relationship between literature and tradition as an extensive, diverse and (re)active memory. With this focus, it has recently redefined its scientific orientations, introducing new research areas, some with exploratory antecedents at IELT – 1) Literature: Tradition and Archive; 2) Interart Studies and 3) Environmental Humanities.
Developing its knowledge production, transfer and dissemination activities largely in open access, it publishes 4 journals, e-book collections and maintains digital structures via 15 websites, which aggregate information in 10 databases. These invent genological and author corpora but go beyond the mere function of a static archive, as they create innovative concepts and perspectives.