Conference with Cristina Roldão

Based on her research into education and pedagogical programmes in Portugal, Cristina Roldão will propose a reflection about ways of perpetuating coloniality in the social, economic and political spheres, through analysis of concepts such as Lusotropicalism, colonial legacy, white privilege, among others. This conference will be moderated by Melissa Rodrigues.

Cristina Roldão is a sociologist, guest professor at the Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, researcher at CIES-IUL — Center for Research and Studies in Sociology and member of the coordination of the thematic section Classes, Inequalities and Public Policies of the Portuguese Association of Sociology. Social inequalities at school are her main research domain, with a particular focus on the processes of exclusion and institutional racism that affect people of African descent in Portuguese society, issues she addresses in her doctoral thesis and in recent research of which she was part of, such as Caminhos escolares de jovens africanos (PALOP) who access higher education (2015).

Melissa Rodrigues is performer and art-educator. She completed postgraduate/specialization studies in Performance, at the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Porto and earned an undergraduate degree in Anthropology from the Department of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA University of Lisbon. She studied Contemporary Dance and Performing Arts at c.e.m. – centro em movimento (Lisbon). As a researcher in the areas of Performance and Visual Culture, she has developed research in Image and Representation of the Black Body, in collaboration with visual artists, social scientists and performers. Melissa is a member of the InterStruct Collective, the Rampa association and the Porto Anti‑Racist Nucleus.

Photography: Renato Cruz Santos