Thematic line:
Colonialism, Anti-Colonialism, and Post-Colonialism: Rethinking Empires and their Aftermaths

Coordinator: Pedro Aires Oliveira

This thematic line takes full advantage of on-going researches on colonial and post-colonial issues at the IHC in order to:

1. Produce a more integrated vision of the interplay between the metropolitan and the colonial dimensions of Portuguese contemporary history;
2. place it in dialogue with other European imperial experiences, with a greater emphasis on the period stretching from the New Imperialism of the late 19th century to the African independences in the 1970s.

Future research will bear in mind:

1. The transnational character of colonialism, focusing on inter-imperial comparisons and connections that allow a critical reassessment of what was particular and/or shared among different modern empires;
2. The need to study colonialism through multiple perspectives, sources, and objects across the former empire, taking stock of the conflicts, negotiations, and compromises that were inherent to the relationship between imperial powers and the anti-colonial groups or movements, as well as of the more ambivalent position of certain intermediary groups;
3. The many legacies of empire in present day politics, society, and culture (from the persistence of racism to identity debates or post-colonial diplomatic relations).