The Lusophone Black Atlantic: Cultures and Religions Across the Ocean

Catalog description

Addresses the cultural unity and differentiation within the Lusophone Black Atlantic, with a special focus on mobility, diaspora, and transnationalism. After a general introduction on the historical and cultural construction of the triangular relations between Portugal, Brazil, and Africa, including the consideration of such issues as luso-tropicalism, "creolization," and colonialism, we will move into the topic of Afro-Brazilian religions like Umbanda and Candomblé as a way to analyze how a matrix civilization was transported across the Atlantic to Brazil and back to Portugal. The issue of the transnationalism and mobility of such religions, accompanying the diaspora of Africans and Brazilians to Portugal over the last 20 years, will provide the basis for further discussion of the notion of "lusophone black cultures." The course bibliography includes anthropological texts as well as current Luso-African and Brazilian literature. Conducted in English.