Em torno do lusotropicalismo: a representação do outro na literatura colonial sobre a Guiné
Abstract
The article aims to highlight continuities and discontinuities in the representation of the colonial subject in works that won colonial literature prizes between 1926 and 1974. Works focusing on Guinean context will be considered here as illustrative for Portuguese colonial literature as a whole. The Salazar regime’s colonial ideology is reflected in these works, which include fiction, poetry and essays. The theses of Luso-tropicalism were appropriated by official propaganda from the 1950s onwards. This doctrine provides a mystified reading of Portuguese colonial history, celebrating the supposed absence of racial prejudice and conflicts with indigenous populations. The present analysis aims to deconstruct this notion by examining the aesthetic of subalternisation that characterises earlier works and which is progressively obscured by a paternalistic gaze. However, this gaze never fully abandons the representation of the other as inferior.
Submitted: June 9, 2025 | Accepted: Sept. 7, 2025 | Language: pt
Keywords Luso-tropicalism • Colonial subject • Postcolonial studies • Guinea-Bissau • Portuguese colonial literature
Copyright © 2025 Eugenio Lucotti. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Tol/2499-5975/2025/01/011