Collaborative Research - Working Groups

Lusoglobe

Led by: Pedro Pereira (Spanish and Portuguese) and Antoinette Errante (School of Educational Policy and Leadership)

Portuguese is the language of 25 percent of Southern Hemisphere countries and 40 percent of the countries bordering the southern Atlantic rim region, around which eight metropolitan areas use Portuguese. The purpose of the working group is to enhance our understanding of cultural texts and dynamics that have resulted from the centuries-long networks of exchange among and beyond Portuguese-speaking regions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. We are interested in what this inquiry can teach us about present-day cultural and political realities in the Lusophone world, as well as the role of Lusophone societies in the global milieu. Issues to be explored include domestic and transnational negotiations between “high” and “low” culture and the impact of audiovisual culture (e.g., music, television, cinema) and diverse forms of expressive culture (e.g., folklore and folklife, religious and ritual traditions, festival practices) on contemporary national and global politics, economic systems, and discourses of identity.

Lusophone Globalicities has been initiated through the support of OSU's Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities. Its activities are co-sponsored by The Department of African American and African Studies, the School of Music, the Department of Theatre, the Center for Folklore Studies, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and the Center for Latin American Studies.