Congress wants to study the impact of April 25 from a non-political perspective. The speakers will address the repercussions of the revolution in countries such as Romania, Italy, Brazil and France.
Around 40 researchers from European and North American universities will participate in the congress until Friday in Madrid “Portugal, 50 years later: echoes of April 25”dedicated to the impact of the revolution on the literature and culture of different countries.
The congress begins this Wednesday morning and will take place for three days and in three different venues in the Spanish capital: the Ateneo de Madrid, the Complutense University and the Autonomous University of Madrid.
During these three days, researchers from Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian, Mozambican and North American universities will reflect and present communications on, for example, the impact of April 25 on the literature of all Spanish languages, the influence of revolution in the cultural production of countries such as Romania, Italy, Brazil or France, or “the memories of April 25 from the perspective of a woman,” as one of the directors of the congress, Filipa de Paula Soares, explained to Lusa.
Topics such as censorship or the connection between April 25 and Portuguese-speaking countries will also be addressed.
The objective was to promote work between universities and make them “reflect on April 25 and the echoes of April 25 in today’s society, from a historical, cultural and literary perspective.” not focused on politicsas is more usual, stated Filipa de Paula Soares, head of the Portuguese Language Center of the Autonomous University of Madrid, at the Camões Institute, and who co-organized the congress with Bárbara Fraticelli, of the Complutense University of Madrid). .
The congress takes place in Spain, a country that experienced a simultaneous democratic transition with Portugal, a perspective that will also be addressed over the next three days.
Portugal and Spain, in fact, have a joint cultural program underway to highlight the 50 years of democracy in both countries and the role of culture in the end of dictatorships and the consolidation of democracies.
The two Madrid universities – where the debates and communications take place on Thursday and Friday – were joined by the Ateneo de Madrid, “a space for thought par excellence”, which will host the first day of the congress this Wednesday.
Among the 40 exhibitors there are recognized academics from several universities, but the stage will be given to new researchers, who submitted applications and went through a selection process to make communications at the congress.
“We set out to give opportunities to new researchers, who normally have some difficulty participating in events of these characteristics,” explained Filipa de Paula Soares, for whom the congress, in addition to pretending to be a moment of “dissemination and creation of critical thinking” around on April 25, will also allow us to learn about the processes and consequences of the Portuguese revolution, with several communications resulting from studies whose conclusions have not yet been published or disseminated.
The complete conference program can be consulted here.
In addition to the Ateneo de Madrid and the two Madrid universities involved in the organization, the international conference “Portugal, 50 years later: echoes of April 25” has the support of the Camões Institute, the Portuguese Embassy in Madrid, the Spanish Society of General and Comparative Literature (SELGyC), from the Spanish Association of Lusitanistas and Indiana University.
Source: Observadora
