Maria João Cordeiro studied Modern Languages and Literatures (English and German Studies) in Lisbon, Trier and Hamburg (Germany). She took her first degree in 1993 and received her MA in German Studies from Universidade Nova de Lisboa in 1998 with a dissertation on literature and cinema. In 2008, and also from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, she earned her PhD in German Studies with a project that focused on the tourist representation of Portugal in contemporary German guidebooks and newspaper travel articles.
Her current research interests fall within the broad field of (inter)cultural studies, specifically reflecting on representation, visual culture, and cultural dimensions of tourism and contemporary travel experiences.
Her most recent publications include articles on German tourism in Portugal, globalization, tourism and alterity construction.
She is Professor at the Beja Polytechnic Institute, where she has been teaching German and English.