This project explores the communities of black women who have participated in the history of mobility and memory-making in the Brown Atlantic in the fields of literature, theory and transnational cinema. Zomming in on a three-century relationship between Brazil, Africa and Portugal as its object of inquiry, it will deliver new perspectives on memory making and black female movement that are attentive to gender difference and queer identities, as well as regional, national and transnational affiliations. Within this broad aim, the project has five objectives:
To produce the first comprehensive analysis of gender difference and queer identities as the key drivers for thinking about mobility and memory making in the Brown Atlantic;
To develop a pioneering theoretical model that draws on the metaphor of the rainbow, derived from a Brazilian popular saying that is traceable to West and Central African mythology, and present in the work of three key Afro-Brazilian women writers (Carolina Maria de Jesus, Conceição Evaristo and Ana Maria Gonçalves);
To develop an intrinsically interdisciplinary and community-oriented approach that will innovate by means of a methodological shift, from the national location of specific female and male artists to their transnational way of remembering and imagining black women’s movement;
To provide leadership and development opportunities to other Early Career Researchers (ECRs);
To engage non-Higher Education Industry stakeholders in the research process as a means of maximising the project’s analysis of diverse voices and experiences.