The Research

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Constellations of Memory: A Multidirectional Study of Migration and Postcolonial Memory explores the complex intersections between memory, migration, and postcolonialism in contemporary Portugal. The disintegration of European colonial empires set in motion large-scale movements of people—from both former colonizing and colonized populations—towards Europe. In the Portuguese context, these migrations significantly reshaped the social and cultural fabric of the country, raising urgent questions about collective memory, belonging, and identity in the postcolonial era.

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Funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), CONSTELLATIONS is a research project based at the Centre for Comparative Studies (CEComp) of the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon (FLUL), in collaboration with the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon (ICS-UL).

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Situated at the crossroads of Anthropology, Sociology, and History, the project investigates the postcolonial memory landscapes shaped by migration from former Portuguese colonies in Africa to Portugal. It focuses in particular on the social and political transformations triggered by the end of Portuguese colonial rule, especially in the development of housing zones created in response to the resulting migratory flows.

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The Field Site: Vale da Amoreira

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The fieldwork is centered in Vale da Amoreira, a suburban neighborhood on the southern bank of the Lisbon metropolitan area. Chosen for its exceptional characteristics, this area has been home, since 1975, to diverse sub-groups of postcolonial populations—including both former colonial settlers (Retornados) and immigrants from former Portuguese colonies. The neighborhood is marked by cultural richness and diversity, offering fertile ground for studying how different postcolonial groups live, remember, and reimagine their shared and contested histories.

​Research Focus and Objectives

CONSTELLATIONS examines the connected (hi)stories, memories, identities, and trajectories of these groups, while analyzing how they relate to one another and form transnational networks within specific socio-cultural environments. At its core, the project investigates the “memory constellations” generated by both voluntary and forced migrations in the aftermath of empire.

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Drawing on Michael Rothberg’s concept of multidirectional memory, CONSTELLATIONS explores how new configurations of remembrance emerge through the unequal encounters between these postcolonial groups. Rather than treating them as separate or oppositional communities, the project emphasizes their entanglements, shared spaces, and overlapping yet distinct experiences of colonialism, migration, and postcoloniality.

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A New Approach to Postcolonial Memory

The project proposes a systemic, empirically grounded, and multi-layered approach to the study of memory and postcolonial migration. By focusing on social class, gender, race, ethnicity, and culture, it challenges the dominant narratives that tend to homogenize cultural and racial difference. CONSTELLATIONS contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how postcolonial memory wars unfold in contemporary Europe, and how class-based inequalities intersect with colonial legacies in shaping memory and identity.

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Methodology

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The project employs an interdisciplinary and multimodal methodology, combining:

• In-depth interviews with residents of Vale da Amoreira;

• Ethnographic studies of memory milieus and daily life;

• Digital ethnography of social media platforms;

• Socio-cultural analysis of postcolonial memory narratives and public debates.

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By working closely with the communities it studies, CONSTELLATIONS aims to produce knowledge that is both academically rigorous and socially engaged.

The Team