To mark and reflect on the first 50 years of independence in Portuguese-speaking African countries and think forward to the next 50, the African Studies Program and the Department of African Cultural Studies are hosting a series of events that will culminate in a public “salon” on April 25 and April 26. These events include classroom visits by guests, film screenings, and public appearances/performances. These events will bring academics, artists, and UW Madison alumnae to campus to consider the varied and complex implications and ramifications of the path to and beyond independence in Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The culminating event, “A Festival of Ideas” will be a series of roundtables featuring creative artists and scholars that will serve as platforms for a combination of brief prepared remarks followed by wide-ranging conversations on several topics, such as the role and impact of cultural expressions on the transition from variants of “Afro-Marxism” to neoliberalism, the enduring impact and multifaceted repercussions of armed liberation struggles and civil wars, the political and cultural links and ramifications of the independence struggles in Luso-Africa and the rest of the continent, and more.
Program Overview
Friday, April 25: 2pm-8pm
- 2pm: Opening Remarks
- 2:30pm-4pm: Nation
- 4:30pm-6pm: Environment
- 6pm-8pm: Dinner and Tucker DJ Playlist Talk
Saturday, April 26: 9am-4pm
- 9-10:30am: Youth
- 11am-12:30pm: Language
- 12:30pm-2pm: Lunch
- 2pm – 3:30pm: Economy
- 4pm: Closing Remarks
Venue: Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard Street, Madison, WI 53715
The Lusophone Africa Series is co-sponsored by: Black Cultural Center, Department of African Cultural Studies, Center for European Studies, Institute for Regional & International Studies, Latin American, Iberian & Caribbean Studies, Department of History, Department of Spanish & Portuguese, Anonymous Fund, Jay & Ruth N. Halls Fund, Interdisciplinary Program for Theatre Studies, and University Lectures.
