Decolonization in Lusophone Literature

Dear Colleagues,

Decolonization has created and carried different meanings, with distinct exigencies and actions in different contexts, temporalities, and spatialities in relation to the lives of those colonized and those who benefited from colonization, with those two categories, if we can call them that, not being mutually exclusive. Through the lenses brought forth by Lusophone literature and their critical readings, this Special Issue will contribute to emerging theorizations of decolonization across different contexts.

These include, but are not limited to, how Black and Indigenous writers in Brazil have grappled with and imagined worlds beyond settler colonialism and its ongoing structures of white supremacy and dispossession, from independence in 1822 to the ongoing moment of late capitalism. Similarly, what does decolonization mean, and what implications does it bring forth, for the former metropolis of Portugal? Can the former metropolis be decolonized? How do writers based in the former metropolis grapple with the imperial histories and the imperial narratives of Portuguese nationhood that have been circuited to colonial expansion, imperialist and white supremacist ideas of Europe, and the ongoing textualities and structures of colonialism in Europe?

What does decolonization necessitate and demand in contemporary post-independence life of former colonies less than 50 years after the end of colonial settlement, as are the cases of Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe? How does decolonization in its configurations by Angolan writers, for instance, look to take into account the exigencies of the present? How do these conceptualizations grapple with anti-Blackness, the legacies of enslavement, the continuities of enslavement, and patriarchal power in the post-colony? This is not to say that all nations who gained their independence and official political sovereignty in the last 50 years share the same exigencies.

If decolonization is never a completed project—neither in concept nor in practice—it is imperative that this volume span as many literary, historical, and spatial contexts as possible towards a renewal of the term decolonization. Toward this end, how do these forms and conceptualizations of decolonization also dialogue with, rethink, or revise earlier approaches to decolonization coming both academically in the form of postcolonial studies, decolonial theory, and other critical fields; as well as “on the ground” in the form of liberation movements, independence struggles, and place-based struggles with local or global scopes such as Black Lives Matter and the Movimento Sem Terra [Landless Workers Movement].

How can we interface approaches and thoughts of decolonization with political projects that target central mechanisms, aspects, and arguably the entire project of imperialism such as anti-Blackness, dispossession, patriarchy, cisgenderism, and heterosexism? In other words, this volume seeks approaches to decolonization that are underpinned by critical fields and theoretical formations such as Black Studies, feminisms of color, queer theories, and disability studies. Similarly, and related to these, approaches to decolonization and its repercussions for justice through lenses such as food studies, intersectional ecocriticisms, and animal studies are also welcome contributions to this theoretical discussion.

As decolonization is not limited to the temporal bounds of official and political independence, and in some cases mitigated by ongoing settler colonial projects, this volume is interested in perspectives, literary and historical, that may come before or after formal decolonization. Thought and action toward decolonization has run parallel to, and disrupted consistently, imperial projects from the moment of expansion. Therefore, approaches to decolonization through literature need not be limited to a given period.

First drafts of essays should be between 5,000 and 10,000 words, written in English (with non-English quotes translated), following Chicago Style citation guidelines, and submitted in Times New Roman size 12 font, double-spaced, by August 15, 2023.

Please contact Special Issue editor, Daniel F. Silva, at [email protected], if you have any questions. 

Authors submitting to this special issue will not be charged the journal's article processing fees.

Dr. Daniel Silva
Guest Editor

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