Comparative and Intercultural Approaches Dr Eleanor K. Jones (Univ. Southampton, e.k.jones@soton.ac.uk) Dr Emanuelle Santos (Univ. Birmingham, e.santos@bham.ac.uk)
In a global climate that has seen the language of internationalisation come to rely on the practice of isolationism, it is more important than ever for cultural scholarship and critique to look beyond borders of all kinds: national, political, affective, linguistic and disciplinary. The study of Portuguese-speaking cultures, and particularly those of Portuguese-speaking Africa, is no exception. While recent years have seen the study of Portuguese-speaking African cultures established as a legitimate field, work that puts these cultures into dialogue with those of the wider world remains limited, leaving research and teaching in the field largely confined to within the disciplinary borders of Portuguese Studies. With a view to both stimulating the development of such scholarly dialogue and locating the study of Portuguese-speaking Africa more firmly within African Studies, this stream seeks contributions that engage the cultures of Portuguese-speaking and/or Portuguese-writing Africa — including subcultures, communities and diasporas — with those outside of that remit, through comparative, intercultural or transnational approaches. We wish to look beyond disciplinary boundaries, and we thus encourage contributions from colleagues in all areas of the humanities, including the social sciences. Likewise, we are keen to hear not only from scholars who consider themselves part of the field of Portuguese-speaking African studies, but also from those who engage with the cultures of Portuguese-speaking Africa as a secondary or minor element of their research.
