[Commlist] Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies Call for Papers: ‘Colonialism and Public Space: Memories in Dispute’

*The  Call for Papers for the Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies  
(Vol 13_2), with the theme ‘Colonialism and Public Space: Memories in 
Dispute’ is open from 10 March to 15 May, 2026.*
*Thematic Editors*: Pedro Menezes (CECS, University of Minho, Portugal), 
Alana Castro de Azevedo (CegeSoma/State Archives of Belgium, Belgium) & 
Sebastian Zuñiga (CES, University of Coimbra, Portugal).
European colonialism is often treated as a historical period, that is, a 
chapter with a beginning, middle, end, and clearly defined boundaries. 
However, a closer analysis of the phenomenon reveals that colonialism 
spreads outwards, before and after itself, with ramifications, echoes, 
and legacies that emerge after the supposed closure of this chapter. It 
is a body with an imprecise and changing silhouette that can still be 
seen today, coexisting with independence celebrations that commemorate 
the official end of this project (Mbembe, 2017).
It is clear that colonialism has consequences, which emerge belatedly, 
after the supposed disappearance of the episodes that gave rise to such 
results. But when we say that colonialism is among us — or are we among 
it, surrounded by it? — we are not referring only to these waves, but to 
their epicentre, the ground zero from which they reverberate. In other 
words: it is not only the consequences of colonialism that mark our 
days, but colonialism itself is here, now.
The public space of former European colonial powers and the territories 
they invaded is marked by a set of symbolic and material traces that 
refer to colonialism: monuments, statues, buildings, squares, streets, 
neighbourhoods and all sorts of urban facilities that, more than just 
referring to it, celebrate and affirm European colonial expansion and 
its legacies (Peralta & Domingos, 2023). Some of these traces were built 
during the colonial period and survived after the believed closure of 
this historical chapter, remaining in the public space not through 
inertia or forgetfulness, but through active and deliberate work to 
maintain and update these objects and the feats they extol. However, 
beyond these reminiscences, whose perpetuation to this day is anything 
but accidental, it is possible to draw up an extensive inventory of 
honours to colonialism erected after the official end of this event, 
when we thought that the condemnation of this undertaking had been 
agreed and pacified (Guardião et al., 2022; Knudsen et al., 2021/2022).
However, while these petrified reverences are always visible, the same 
cannot be said about the violence and exploitation inherent in the 
European colonial project. To put it explicitly: the material and 
symbolic traces persist, but the reference to colonialism does not, or 
not necessarily. In these cases, rather than isolated figures cut out 
against the landscape, these colonial totems become the landscape 
itself: hidden because they are explicit, camouflaged in their omnipresence.
In recent years, however, direct actions against colonial traces have 
become increasingly frequent. There are numerous reports of statues 
being torn down or defaced, demands for changes in urban toponymy, 
petitions calling for the installation of information plaques, and 
campaigns aimed at creating anti- and counter-monuments. Driven by 
groups seeking to rescue memories that had previously been invisible in 
official narratives, such actions do not take place without encountering 
resistance. In response, voices are raised that present themselves as 
guardians of the values, myths, and ideas propagated by these symbols 
and that can be heard in the most diverse sectors of society: from 
public authorities, through formal associations, to clandestine 
far-right groups. What drives these antagonistic positions to clash is 
not just nostalgia or longing for the past, but a pragmatic interest in 
pressing 21st-century agendas, given that colonial memory—always in 
dispute—is strategically instrumentalised as a means of legitimising 
discourses on contemporary issues (Haraway, 2013; Hobsbawm & Ranger, 
1983; Quijano, 2000), particularly with regard to migration and the 
rights of racialised people (Mbembe, 2017). In Weberian terms, there is 
a struggle for the monopoly of the legitimate definition of the meaning 
of colonialism and, far from being an end in itself, this confrontation 
is part of a whole formed by other confrontations fought over the 
definition of other concepts: to say what colonialism is is to say what 
migration is and, ultimately, to say what Europe is.
*Objetctive of the Thematic Issue*
This call for papers invites articles that discuss the relationship 
between colonialism, public space, and memory, highlighting how these 
debates and actions are part of the dynamics of power struggles between 
dominant and counter-hegemonic narratives. We seek analyses that 
consider the controversies and conflicts surrounding colonial traces in 
public space, as well as the responses formulated by public authorities 
and civil society in different national and political contexts. The aim 
is also to promote critical reflections on the ways in which material 
traces of the colonial past are mobilised and reinterpreted by different 
social actors, becoming platforms for the articulation of progressive 
and/or conservative discourses around contemporary issues.
*Suggested Topics*
We welcome theoretical and empirical works, both general and based on 
specific case studies, comparative studies and studies resulting from 
artistic interventions from different areas of the humanities, social 
sciences, arts and creative activities: communication, sociology, 
anthropology, political science, history, geography, cultural studies, 
philosophy, architecture, urbanism, heritage, artistic languages and 
related areas, exploring issues such as:

  * Artivism and colonial memory
  * Affinity and tension between activists, artists, civil society,
    academics and public authorities
  * Conflicts between official memory and alternative memories
  * Public space between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic memories
  * Policies for the management, listing and heritage designation of
    colonial public spaces and their controversies
  * Anti-colonial, post-colonial and decolonial theories, concepts and
    debates
  * Continuities and ruptures between anti-, post- and decolonial
    theories and more canonical theoretical traditions

*References*
Guardião, A., Jerónimo, M. B., & Peixoto, P. (Eds.). (2022). Colonial 
echoes: Histories, heritages and memories (R. Matos, Trans.). 
Tinta-da-China.
Haraway, D. (2013). Situated knowledges. The science question in 
feminism and the privilege of partial perspective. In M. Wyer, M. 
Barbercheck, D. Cookmeyer, & H. Ozturk (Eds.), Women, science and 
technology (3rd ed., pp. 455–472). Routledge. 
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203427415 
<https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203427415>
Hobsbawm, E., & Ranger, T. (Eds.). (1983). The invention of tradition. 
Cambridge University Press.
Knudsen, B. T., Oldfield, J. R., Buettner, E., & Zabunyan, E. (Eds.). 
(2022). Decolonising colonial heritage: New agendas, actors and 
practices in and beyond Europe. Routledge. 
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003100102 
<https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003100102>. (Original work published in 2021)
Mbembe, A. (2017). Critique of Black reason (L. Dubois, Trans.). Duke 
University Press.
Peralta, E., & Domingos, N. (Eds.). (2023). Legacies of the Portuguese 
colonial empire: Nationalism, citizenship and popular culture. 
Bloomsbury Academic.
Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of power, Eurocentrism, and Latin 
America. Nepantla: Views from South, 1(3), 533–580.
*Submission period (full manuscript): 10 March to 15 May 2026*.
*LANGUAGE*
Articles may be submitted in English or Portuguese. Articles selected 
for publication will be translated into Portuguese or English, 
respectively, and will be published in full in both languages.
*EDITING AND SUBMISSION*
The Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies is an open-access academic 
journal that operates in accordance with the demanding standards of the 
peer review system and uses a double-blind review process. Each 
submitted work will be distributed to two reviewers who have been 
previously invited to evaluate it according to its academic quality, 
originality, and relevance to the objectives and scope of this edition 
of the journal.
Manuscripts should be submitted via the journal’s website 
(https://www.rlec.pt/ <https://www.rlec.pt/>). If you are accessing the 
Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies for the first time, you must 
register in order to submit your article (register _here_ 
<https://rlec.pt/user/register>).
The guide for authors can be found _here_ 
<https://rlec.pt/about/submissions>.
For further information, please contact: _rlec@ics.uminho.pt_ 
<mailto:(rlec /at/ ics.uminho.pt)>
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No Payment from the Authors will be required
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