How are regional and global crises depicted and reflected in comics? How does Portuguese-speaking comics position themselves within the worldwide comic production and comic research? Which comics from Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique are there, and which of them are published in Germany?
The lecture series provides a first approach to these central questions. First, a panorama of Lusophone comics will be given, spanning the continents of Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Subsequently, individual comics from Portuguese Language Countries will be examined for content related to current global crises like Covid-19 or systemic violence against BIPoC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Finally, a further concern is to reflect on the position of Portuguese-language productions within the German publishing industry and comic research and, possibly, to increase their visibility.
Over the course of the semester, scholars, artists, a publisher, and a translator will talk about their work with the ninth art in changing formats - lecture, talk or open discussion. In the last two sessions, the focus will be broadened to include the Spanish-speaking world, in order to reveal possible analogies and differences.
The event will take place virtually on Zoom. To participate please register by sending a short e-mail to janek.scholz@uni-koeln.de, using the subject “Lusophone Comic”. Thus, you will be included in a distribution list through which the latest access data will be sent out every week.