In 1971, Amílcar Cabral presented himself in the United Nations (UN) as an “anonymous fighter” engaged in the struggle for the fundamental freedoms of the populations of Guinea and Cape Verde, as well as of all mankind. Such affirmation was not casual, since Cabral adopted the status of “anonymous fighter” in other circumstances, arguing that he was struggling for the human dignity, progress and happiness.

As an outcome of the international status he achieved, Amílcar Cabral’s influence exceeded the national histories of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. His personality surpassed the African dimension, as evinced in the tribute organized by the UN after his assassination, when his charisma was emphasized by the participants. In this sense, it is essential to consider how his trajectory evolved through the interaction between the internal political agenda (anticolonial and emancipatory) and the establishment of networks of support and contact with international actors, from different geographical, political and ideological backgrounds. As a matter of fact, Cabral metabiography cannot neglect the complicity of such relation, otherwise we risk not understanding properly the heterogeneity of his way of creating political intermediations. His figure should be understood as presenting many features, having prompted a number of political, theoretical, cultural, academic and social subjects, which sometimes were controversial.

The popularity achieved by the expression Cabral ka Morrê (Cabral did not perish) evinces the persistence of his legacy. Nowadays we can witness an increase in the studies related to him in different academic disciplines and countries. In order to promote the dialogue amongst the most recent studies exploring his many features, we intend to organize an international conference, to be held in Lisbon, at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, on 1 and 2 March, 2018.

The main goal of the conference is to bring together academics studying Cabral trajectory, institutions involved in preserving his memory and personalities which became acquainted with him.

We welcome proposals for 20-minutes presentations regarding these and other topics:

-Amílcar Cabral as an object of academic studies; -His theoretical viewpoints;
-The interaction of his theoretical viewpoints and the work of other authors;
-His literary work;
-His involvement in the struggle against Portuguese colonialism;
-The international dimension of his political performance;
-The mythification of his figure as a national hero;
-The testimonies and narratives produced about him;
-The usages of his image and memory.



Abstracts (200 words) and short CV (250 words) should be submitted to: amilcarcabralconference@gmail.com

Deadline for application: 15 November 2017.

Notification of acceptance: 15 December 2017.

The organizers are anticipating the publication of the communications.



Organisers:

Aurora Almada e Santos (IHC – NOVA FCSH)
Victor Barros (IHC – NOVA FCSH; CEIS 20-Coimbra University)



Scientific Committee:

Ângela Coutinho (IPRI-FCSH/NOVA)
António Correia e Silva (DCSH/UNI-CV)
Julião Soares Sousa (CEIS 20-UC; IHC – NOVA FCSH)
Natalia Telepneva (Warwick University)