Lusophone Journal of Cultural Studies

The Black Diaspora Disproving the Single Chorus: Imaginaries of Time, History and Gender in the Rebellions of the Black People through Brazilian Popular Music

Rosimeire Barboza da Silva — 2024-01-29

Inspired by Paul Gilroy’s O Atlântico Negro (The Black Atlantic; 1993/2001), this study sets out to interpret four renowned Brazilian popular music (MPB) lyrics: “Chico Rei” (Jarbas Soares, Djalma de Oliveira Costa e Geraldo Soares de Carvalho, 1964); “Zumbi” (Jorge Ben, 1974); “Mestre Sala dos Mares” (João Bosco & Aldir Blanc, 1975) and “Morena de Angola”
(Chico Buarque, 1980). By examining the songs within the intellectual framework of The Black
Atlantic, the analysis focuses on two main perspectives for interpretation: (a) the imaginary of
time/history and (b) the gendered principles of enunciation. Following the methodological approach
proposed by Gilroy (1993/2001), music emerges as a public space for articulating and
disseminating memories of the black diaspora. Informed by the historical struggles waged by
black people, the lyrics reclaim narratives insistently invisible and challenge the supposed place
of political “non-agency” of enslaved populations or those living under authoritarian regimes.
These compositions, confronting the urgency to break free from the tiresome chorus of a single
history, provide privileged access to memories of uprisings against enslavement and colonialism,
spreading decolonial knowledge in the contemporary context. The production and inscription of
an oppositional memory — one that claims space and place while contesting sedimented versions
— is a constant endeavour that is closely related to the establishment of new horizons for
struggle in the present.

The Hybridisation of Journalism in Fostering Engagement with the Climate Cause: A Reception Study with Brazilian Activists

Caroline Jacobi — 2024-03-27

Temperature records and extreme weather events are increasingly frequent in Brazil, where the protection of biomes and, mainly, the Amazon, is a central point in this debate. However governments and large corporations have not made efforts to meet these global demands. To reverse the situation, journalism (which, in this article, can be understood as journalisms) stands as an important aspect of visibility in public debate and, mainly, as a lever for engagement on the part of civil society, pointing out causes, responsibilities and possible solutions in order to encourage everyone’s involvement in solving the identified problems. This article explores the boundaries of journalism and its potential new hybrid configurations regarding engagement in the climate cause, as perceived by Brazilian activists from different themes and causes. From the perspective of cultural studies, a reception study was conducted in 2022, using online focus groups with activists aged 18 to 35 across Brazil’s five regions. The discourse was categorised through content analysis, considering the emergence of recurring themes and their alignment with the theoretical framework. The research findings indicated a permeability in the boundaries between journalism and other communication genres within the discourse of participants. Additionally, activists suggested the potential for journalism to incorporate additional practices and characteristics from various genres to enhance engagement with climate issues.

Climate Change Narratives in TikTok Brazil: From Diagnosis to Despair

Simone Evangelista — 2024-05-06

The objective of this exploratory study is to chart the discourses circulating on the TikTok social network concerning climate change in Brazil. It investigates the predominant narratives on Brazilian TikTok regarding climate change and the implications of these narratives. Using a methodology based on Basch et al. (2022) tailored for the Brazilian context, this study analyses 50 videos indicated as the most relevant by the platform using the hashtag #mudancaclimatica (#climatechange). Key aspects investigated include language patterns, the use of sources and strategies for addressing climate change. The videos were categorised based on various criteria, including their stance on the truth of climate change, the environmental issues highlighted, the social and ecological impacts mentioned, and the extreme weather events described. Given TikTok’s immense popularity in Brazil, the prevalence of disinformation on digital platforms in the country, and the lack of awareness among Brazilians about climate change, this study aims to assess the potentially harmful effects of narrative circulation on the platform on understanding the issue. The findings indicate a relative consensus on the reality and severity of climate change. However, aspects pertaining to the complexity of the problem often receive less attention. Prominent in the analysed narratives are those with an alarmist tone, amplified by the platform’s features. Moreover, the sources and channels behind these productions often lack clear identification, even when they are directly linked to scientific dissemination. This ambiguity could pose challenges in using these materials to counter climate denialism.

Young Activists and Climate Justice: An Analysis of the Articulations of Txai Suruí and Amanda Costa

Criselli Maria Montipó — 2024-05-14

Faced with the imperative to raise awareness to tackle the climate crisis, this article delves into Instagram manifestations of two young Brazilian activists dedicated to climate justice: Txai Suruí, a member of the indigenous youth movement in Rondônia, and Amanda Costa, founder and executive director of the Instituto Perifa Sustentável, selected for their involvement of the United Nations Global Compact Youth Committee. Following the three stages of narrative analysis adopted (event, organisation and conflict), coupled with the theoretical-methodological framework of intersectionality, the findings show that the young women are breaking new ground and promoting discussions surrounding the environment, human rights, citizenship, social participation and climate justice. Using informal and empathetic language, the activists exert pressure on agents (governments, institutions, companies) while establishing a connection with their audiences. As women from the Global South, activists Txai Suruí and Amanda Costa challenge entrenched power dynamics. The findings of the analysis underscore the pivotal role played by these young women in articulating content on the issues. Through advocacy efforts and active engagement on digital social networks, they exhibit a critical and creative approach. Serving as representatives of historically invisible peoples, Txai and Amanda employ narratives of resistance, drawing upon their ancestral heritage in the pursuit of a future with climate justice.

Composing Worlds: Exploring the Metamorphosis of the World in the Age of Climate Change and Its Implications for Health

Diogo Guedes Vidal — 2024-05-28

Climate change (CC) is the greatest evidence of the “metamorphosis of the world” and is changing the temperature and rainfall patterns, but also the social, cultural and health systems on planet Earth. The unpredictability of climactic phenomena and their multidimensional impacts on human and environmental health contribute to making our understanding of the world increasingly difficult. Moreover, history has proven that technoscience alone is not enough to deal with these problems. A global appeal is now emerging for the humanities and social sciences to also deal with the human and non-human issues raised by CC, notably through their integration with the areas of health and sustainability. The aim of this article is to present and discuss some of the first results of the Composing Worlds: Humanities, Well-Being and Health transdisciplinary
network, which consists of a network of experts in the humanities, social sciences and health who think about issues of well-being and health in contemporary technological societies. The methodology used in the first phase of the project consisted of an interview with open questions, made
by the network of 12 researchers. This was an exploratory study that used thematic analysis to identify the original key ideas of each author and corresponding main themes. The themes were then organised into semantic groups or thematic clusters. It is hoped that some of these clusters will contribute to discussing how CC has already altered our ways of being, living and thinking about the world, and will also contribute to dealing with the challenges related to the risks of CC on health and well-being throughout the 21st century.

Emergência Climática e Ativismos da Juventude: Um Estudo de Caso em Lisboa

Mariana Castro — 2024-06-11

The present paper is part of ongoing doctoral research in political science in Brazil. It explores the advent of the Anthropocene as an ethical and political phenomenon, highlighting the transformation of humanity into a geological force and its political and epistemological consequences. We address the key role of young people in climate activism, that is in new movements such as End Fossil Occupy, the Student Climate Strike and Climáximo in Lisbon, Portugal. We hypothesise that the Anthropocene requires its own form of politics. Consequently, the narratives of young people in Portugal contribute significantly to establishing this new political paradigm.
The article is, therefore, divided into four parts, in addition to the introduction and concluding remarks. First, we analyse the concept of the Anthropocene and its weaknesses, and Latour’s views of this reality, commonly referred to as a war of worlds. This is followed by a brief discussion of climate activism in recent decades, and the description of the research methodology. The field experience in Portugal in October 2023 offers an enriching overview of the active involvement of Portuguese youth in the light of the emerging climate crisis. Finally, we share the field experience and the dialogue between these youth movements in the Portuguese capital. The aim is to provide an overview of the intersection between the Anthropocene, climate activism and the prospects of Portuguese youth.

Activist Art and Ecological Art: Exploring the Interplay of Culture, Environment, and Society, Artistic Approaches, and Cultural Production Contexts

Tatiana Lopes Vargas — 2024-06-25

Environmental activism, expressed through art, prompts an educational process, generating reflections and evoking a sense of vulnerability experienced by human bodies before the reality of the climate emergency (Rodriguez-Labajos, 2022). Because ecological art sparks subjective responses aimed at raising awareness and driving action on socio-environmental concerns, this theoretical, reflective, and interpretive article seeks to explore the concepts of “activist art”, “ecological art”, and analogous designations in order to analyse the interplay between culture, environment, and society and the conditions shaping cultural production practices. In pursuit of this objective, our inquiry delved into the framework of Félix Guattari’s concept of “eco-art” (1989/1990), the nature of ecological art approaches and the primary environmental causes they address, the contextual landscape in which environmental activist art practices unfolds and the dynamics of cultural production. Examples from Portuguese artists and projects were used to elucidate the nuances of creative practices and strategies linked to environmental sustainability, aspects relating to environmental education, ethical issues and cultural policies that align with ecological art. This article aims to contribute to the discussion on ecological art by exploring the political identity of art and emphasising the indispensable and inherent analysis between cultural practices and the environment.

The Contributions of Two Latin American Documentaries to an Expanded Perception of Climate Change from a Decolonial Perspective

Denise Tavares — 2024-06-25

Creating a new awareness of the environmental crisis has been on the agendas, either directly or indirectly, of many social actors and media products. These include films and videos focusing on environmental issues, given the current important role of audiovisual culture. Against this backdrop, this paper focuses on the Latin American documentaries Hija de la Laguna (Daughter of the Lake; 2015) and A Mãe de Todas as Lutas (The Mother of all Fights; 2021), with the aim of discussing their possible contributions to a broader perception of climate action. Based on a film analysis centred on the protagonists, the aesthetic and stylistic choices of each work, we look into how the narratives of the two documentaries intertwine information and subjective knowledge, the individual and the collective, the local and the global, personal memory and public archives, among other argumentative markers. These categorisations are compared to the decolonial perspective, which is taken up in the text in a broad way, that is in the dialogue with authors who embody the struggles of indigenous and/or marginalised people into decolonial theory. Among the results found, we highlight that the documentaries establish counter-narratives that allow us to identify the emergence of female protagonism in the struggles for land and water ownership, the critical stance towards extractivism (and neo-extractivism) and lingering ethnic-racial prejudice. Also worth noting in both films, the documentary language values the subject, without failing to link them with the social context.

Probing Climate Change Perceptions in Vulnerable Enclaves: Resilient Realities in the Buffalo City Municipality, South Africa

Natal Buthelezi — 2024-06-27

Under the turbulent environment of the 21st century, climate change emerges as a menacing and urgent crisis, especially in urban poverty-stricken areas, where its impacts are most acutely felt. Despite the importance of understanding public perceptions to foster effective climate change resilience, there still exists a notable gap in nuanced scholarship within the informal settlements of South Africa. This study employs a mixed-method approach to explore how cognitive, emotional, motivational and cultural factors affect these communities' resilience or vulnerability to climate-related hazards. The prevailing consensus in the literature suggests a general underestimation of climate change risks among residents. However, this paper contends that innovative, resource-constrained strategies observed in these communities suggest a significant degree of agency and preparedness to confront these challenges. This study sheds light on the interplay between individual actions, social networks, information channels, cultural practices, and power dynamics in shaping climate change perceptions. It recommends integrating local, cost-effective adaptation measures into wider policy frameworks. In conclusion, the study emphasises the importance of educating informal settlement residents, harnessing community participation and utilising local adaptation knowledge and sustainable development techniques to forge a resilient and equitable future for the inhabitants of Buffalo City Municipality.

Climate Change: Social and Cultural Challenges

Alice Balbé — 2024-06-27