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Papers by Alexandra Dias Santos

The editors of Media and the Portuguese Empire offer in this introduction an overview of the hist... more The editors of Media and the Portuguese Empire offer in this introduction an overview of the historical circumstances and communication processes which marked the Portuguese expansion into Asia, Brazil and Africa. They provide a concise report on the dynamic processes which allowed a small country on the edge of Western Europe to govern the first of the European world empires to be established and the last to be dismantled, in the aftermath of a long colonial war. This was an empire that extended, by the end of the nineteenth century, from Macau, on the coast of China, to the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde and S. Tome, including Timor and several enclaves on the Indian coast, as well as coastal territory covering lands which today are part of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.

Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Carvalho, 2019

O texto que se segue decorre da minha contribuição para o col quio Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Car... more O texto que se segue decorre da minha contribuição para o col quio Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Carvalho que reuniu em Lisboa um grupo de amigos e estudiosos da obra do antrop logo angolano Não sendo especialista em antropologia não quis ainda assim perder a

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Portuguese Journal of Social Science, 2015

War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities,... more War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities, as well as in the shaping of collective memory. Also, certain literary narratives of war are considered fundamental in the symbolic process leading to the formation and consolidation of national identities. A founding status has been attributed to Pepetela, a well-known Angolan writer, winner of several major international awards. His novel Mayombe , written in 1971 and published after independence, in 1980, is a literary account of the confrontations between Portuguese soldiers and the guerrillas of the anti-colonial People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA – Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola) in northern Angola. The present paper will focus on the myth of the nation’s origins proposed in this novel. It is suggested that Mayombe portrays just one of the possible perspectives on anti-colonial war and on the origins of the Angolan nation, namely a perspective moulded after a socialist imagery, and shaped by a teleological view of history. I will argue that this vision influences the handling of such important issues as individual freedom, the co-existence of diverse forms of collective identity, and the use of violence, leading to a bias in collective memory. War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities, as well as in the shaping of collective memory. Also, certain literary narratives of war are considered fundamental in the symbolic process leading to the formation and consolidation of national identities. A founding status has been attributed to Pepetela, a well-known Angolan writer, winner of several major international awards. His novel Mayombe , written in 1971 and published after independence, in 1980, is a literary account of the confrontations between Portuguese soldiers and the guerrillas of the anti-colonial People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA – Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola) in northern Angola. The present paper will focus on the myth of the nation’s origins proposed in this novel. It is suggested that Mayombe portrays just one of the possible perspectives on anti-colonial war and on the origins of the Angolan nation, namely a perspective moulded after a socialist imagery, and shaped by a teleological view of history. I will argue that this vision influences the handling of such important issues as individual freedom, the co-existence of diverse forms of collective identity, and the use of violence, leading to a bias in collective memory.

The literary work of the renowned Angolan writer Pepetela developed, from the 1970"s until the 19... more The literary work of the renowned Angolan writer Pepetela developed, from the 1970"s until the 1990"s, in tight connection with a biography of political exile, nationalist militant, and high cadre in the MPLA government. We therefore feel allowed, even compelled, to read that work, in which themes such as utopia, war, and the nation are addressed with remarkable steadiness, from a perspective enhancing the political and sociological conceptions that underlie it. We do not intend, in this dissertation, to consider the artistic value of Pepetela"s literary work. Because we recognize in several of his novels sites of politicalideological, as well as sociological, enunciation, we consider essential to illuminate certain visions that lie beneath the myths of origin and the foundational narratives there proposed, since they contribute to the complex of symbols, stories, ideas, and projects which, together with the territory and the institutions, shape Angola. We propose comprehending such visions with reference to the thought of sociologists and political philosophers, among other social scientists, suggesting the possibility of seeing emerge, from several of Pepetela"s novels, a nationalist narrative coupled with a utopian project of society which starts to disaggregate by the end of the 1980"s. In order to reach that goal, we consider of relevance locating each novel in a certain historical, social, political, and ideological context, seeing in that effort of contextualization the best chance of attaining an understanding of the ideas and concepts which are there articulated in an original way.

Relações Internacionais, Mar 1, 2014

Book Reviews by Alexandra Dias Santos

Relações Internacionais, 2011

Books by Alexandra Dias Santos

Media and the Portuguese Empire, 2019

Because nations and nationalism are to a great extent cultural and not just ideological phenomena... more Because nations and nationalism are to a great extent cultural and not just ideological phenomena, the literature which heralded the Angolan nation undoubtedly played a key role in spreading the idea of independence. 1 Literature laid the ground for and developed alongside the political and military action of the various nationalist organisations, in particular those which came together in the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola). It is not necessary to subscribe entirely to the theory that

The editors of Media and the Portuguese Empire offer in this introduction an overview of the hist... more The editors of Media and the Portuguese Empire offer in this introduction an overview of the historical circumstances and communication processes which marked the Portuguese expansion into Asia, Brazil and Africa. They provide a concise report on the dynamic processes which allowed a small country on the edge of Western Europe to govern the first of the European world empires to be established and the last to be dismantled, in the aftermath of a long colonial war. This was an empire that extended, by the end of the nineteenth century, from Macau, on the coast of China, to the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde and S. Tome, including Timor and several enclaves on the Indian coast, as well as coastal territory covering lands which today are part of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.

Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Carvalho, 2019

O texto que se segue decorre da minha contribuição para o col quio Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Car... more O texto que se segue decorre da minha contribuição para o col quio Diálogos com Ruy Duarte de Carvalho que reuniu em Lisboa um grupo de amigos e estudiosos da obra do antrop logo angolano Não sendo especialista em antropologia não quis ainda assim perder a

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Portuguese Journal of Social Science, 2015

War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities,... more War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities, as well as in the shaping of collective memory. Also, certain literary narratives of war are considered fundamental in the symbolic process leading to the formation and consolidation of national identities. A founding status has been attributed to Pepetela, a well-known Angolan writer, winner of several major international awards. His novel Mayombe , written in 1971 and published after independence, in 1980, is a literary account of the confrontations between Portuguese soldiers and the guerrillas of the anti-colonial People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA – Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola) in northern Angola. The present paper will focus on the myth of the nation’s origins proposed in this novel. It is suggested that Mayombe portrays just one of the possible perspectives on anti-colonial war and on the origins of the Angolan nation, namely a perspective moulded after a socialist imagery, and shaped by a teleological view of history. I will argue that this vision influences the handling of such important issues as individual freedom, the co-existence of diverse forms of collective identity, and the use of violence, leading to a bias in collective memory. War is recognized as an important element in the process of consolidation of national identities, as well as in the shaping of collective memory. Also, certain literary narratives of war are considered fundamental in the symbolic process leading to the formation and consolidation of national identities. A founding status has been attributed to Pepetela, a well-known Angolan writer, winner of several major international awards. His novel Mayombe , written in 1971 and published after independence, in 1980, is a literary account of the confrontations between Portuguese soldiers and the guerrillas of the anti-colonial People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA – Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola) in northern Angola. The present paper will focus on the myth of the nation’s origins proposed in this novel. It is suggested that Mayombe portrays just one of the possible perspectives on anti-colonial war and on the origins of the Angolan nation, namely a perspective moulded after a socialist imagery, and shaped by a teleological view of history. I will argue that this vision influences the handling of such important issues as individual freedom, the co-existence of diverse forms of collective identity, and the use of violence, leading to a bias in collective memory.

The literary work of the renowned Angolan writer Pepetela developed, from the 1970"s until the 19... more The literary work of the renowned Angolan writer Pepetela developed, from the 1970"s until the 1990"s, in tight connection with a biography of political exile, nationalist militant, and high cadre in the MPLA government. We therefore feel allowed, even compelled, to read that work, in which themes such as utopia, war, and the nation are addressed with remarkable steadiness, from a perspective enhancing the political and sociological conceptions that underlie it. We do not intend, in this dissertation, to consider the artistic value of Pepetela"s literary work. Because we recognize in several of his novels sites of politicalideological, as well as sociological, enunciation, we consider essential to illuminate certain visions that lie beneath the myths of origin and the foundational narratives there proposed, since they contribute to the complex of symbols, stories, ideas, and projects which, together with the territory and the institutions, shape Angola. We propose comprehending such visions with reference to the thought of sociologists and political philosophers, among other social scientists, suggesting the possibility of seeing emerge, from several of Pepetela"s novels, a nationalist narrative coupled with a utopian project of society which starts to disaggregate by the end of the 1980"s. In order to reach that goal, we consider of relevance locating each novel in a certain historical, social, political, and ideological context, seeing in that effort of contextualization the best chance of attaining an understanding of the ideas and concepts which are there articulated in an original way.

Relações Internacionais, Mar 1, 2014

Relações Internacionais, 2011

Media and the Portuguese Empire, 2019

Because nations and nationalism are to a great extent cultural and not just ideological phenomena... more Because nations and nationalism are to a great extent cultural and not just ideological phenomena, the literature which heralded the Angolan nation undoubtedly played a key role in spreading the idea of independence. 1 Literature laid the ground for and developed alongside the political and military action of the various nationalist organisations, in particular those which came together in the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola). It is not necessary to subscribe entirely to the theory that