PRR Project

Summary

Rationale NOVA FCSH seeks to expand its academic staff by appointing an Assistant Researcher in the history of colonialism, anti-colonialism and decolonization, areas where she/he is expected to develop groundbreaking research. The selected candidate will develop most of her/his research at the Institute of Contemporary History (IHC), particularly at the “Political History – Regimes, Transitions and Memory” research group, where colonial and anti-colonial history benefitted from increasing attention in recent years, as a consequence of several factors: - IHC’s early interest in Portuguese colonialism and anti-colonialism in the Portuguese empire; - a growing interest of the international academic community on the history of Portuguese empire and African anti-colonialism: - the mounting visibility of colonial and anti-colonial themes in the public sphere (a process in which the IHC has been called upon to intervene in multiple ways). IHC’s research agenda is, in this context, unique within Portuguese historiography, because it grants anti-colonial resistance and African national liberation movements the same relevance as it is usually given to the study of Portuguese colonialism. This balance impacts in research on the history of colonial powers themselves, their agency being understood in relation to the development of anti-colonial resistance and liberation movements. The IHC thus seeks to ensure that Portuguese historiography, which has a long tradition on the study of the dynamics associated with imperial expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, also contributes to the global history of late European empires and the post-colonial turn triggered by the decolonization processes of the second post-war period. Scientific profile The selected candidate should focus on one or more of the following areas: the study of Portuguese colonialism in Africa in the context of the so-called Third Portuguese Empire (1825-1975), with particular attention to the comparative and global dimension of the different contemporary European colonialisms; the history of the formation and development of African anti-colonial nationalist movements between the second post-war period and decolonization, considering the participation of African anti-colonialisms and decolonization in the period’s global context of decolonization; the history of decolonization from transformations underway in post-imperial Portugal to the construction of new independent African states and the persistence of a post-colonial question. Moreover, the researcher should also intervene in the debates on memory surrounding colonial and anti-colonial pasts. Here too, IHC’s agenda was instrumental in the topic’s public visibility, from television documentaries to the edition of sources, through exhibitions and the ongoing musealization of the Tarrafal concentration camp in Cape Verde. In this context, the researcher should also strengthen IHC´s contribution to the activities of the Associated Laboratory IN2PAST, namely in IN2PAST’s thematic line 5, “Cultural Transfers, Public Policies on Memory and Inclusive Citizenship”. Finally, the researcher is expected to be a key element in the creation of the Lisbon Postdoctoral Studies Program in Colonialism and Anticolonialism, an important aspect of IHC’s Plan of Activities for the FCT funding period of 2025-2029. This program aims to establish an annual meeting between researchers based in Portuguese and in international universities, which responds to the growing interest on late Portuguese colonialism and the history of the African anti-colonialisms that opposed it. This program, including an intensive course in Portuguese, will also contribute to the development of NOVA FCSH’s research axes “Society and Policies” and “Memory and Heritage”. Key responsibilities In short, the researcher is expected to conduct several of the following research tasks: •    To develop research on the history of colonialism, anti-colonialism and decolonization; •    To situate the study of Portuguese colonialism in Africa in parallel with the formation and development of African anti-colonial nationalist movements; •    To contribute to the research life of NOVA FCSH, of the IHC, and of the Associated Laboratory IN2PAST; •    To explore the global connections of Portuguese colonialism and of the anticolonial movements in the Portuguese Empire, and to extend research to the post-colonial period; •    To engage in debates on memory surrounding colonial and anti-colonial pasts and to contribute to the processes of memorialization in which the IHC is already involved; •    To actively seek and apply for opportunities of national and international funding, and to guide research towards forms of dissemination in line with public policies of inclusive citizenship; •    To lead the process towards the creation of the Lisbon Postdoctoral Studies Program in Colonialism and Anticolonialism.