Fighting unicity out: a study on the national formation in Angola

• Grant number: 14/18897-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: November 24, 2014
• End date: November 23, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Anthropology
• Principal Investigator: Paula Montero
• Grantee: Ariel Rolim Oliveira
• Supervisor: Christopher Cramer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of London, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/23604-9 - Dissensions of the Universal: A Study on the Formation of Nation in Angola, BP.DR

Abstract

This research proposal is an extension of my doctoral project. My aim here is to further some original issues which have proved to be crucial and, in order to do so, point out the specific theoretical and methodological discussion to be developed during my period as a visiting scholar at SOAS. This will be necessary to cope with the issues raised during my recent fieldwork in Angola and by the process of writing my qualifying exam essay, as well as by comments made during presentations of my research. It has become evident that a consideration of violence as providing specific kinds of governance is necessary to understand the specificities of the formation of the Angolan national imagination during the civil war - the original subject of my doctoral research. Professor Cramer's reflexion on the political economy of violence is an important asset in order to deal with this issue. The opportunity represented by the rich environment of exchange with several researchers working on similar issues at SOAS is most valuable to improve the theoretical framework in relation to which these issues are to be analysed, to establish dialogue and to obtain unique feedback on the subject. (AU)