Maria Paula Meneses is a Principal researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra. A Mozambican scholar, she attended secondary school in Maputo, and later on did her graduate studies in Russia (MA in History from St. Petersburg University) and obtained her PhD in the USA, by Rutgers University. In 2009 she was a visiting scholar at EHSS, Paris. At the CES Maria Paula Meneses develops several research projects and teaches in two PhD programs, namely Postcolonialisms and Global Citizenship and Human Rights in the 21st th century. Internationally she co-coordinates, with Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Karina Bidaseca, CES-CLACSO e-learning specialization course on Epistemologies of the South. Previously she was a Professor at Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique. Her research focus on the political history and socio-legal complexity of southern Africa, especially in Mozambique, Angola and South Africa. At the heart of her interests are the relations between knowledge, power and societies, paying special attention to people who experienced the violence of the colonial encounter. She has conducted various projects on the postcolonial legal pluralism - with a focus on the relationship between the state and 'traditional authorities'-, the relationship between official history, memory(ies) and other narratives of belonging in contemporary identity struggles. Another of the topics in which she has been working focuses on the possibilities of decolonization of the university, a theme that he has addressed particularly from her African experience. Her work has been published in journals, books and reports in several countries, including Mozambique, Spain, Portugal, Senegal, USA, England, Germany, Colombia, amid others. Recent publications include "Os Saberes Feiticeiros em Moçambique: Realidades materiais, experiências espirituais" (Almedina 2019), and the co-edition, with Boaventura de Sousa Santos,of "Knowledges Born in the Struggle Constructing the Epistemologies of the Global South" (Routledge, 2019), and "Mozambique on the Move. Challenges and Reflections" (Brill, 2018), co-organised with Sheila Khan and Bjorn Bertelsen.

Cristina Sá Valentim.Anthropologist (BA and MA) with a PhD in Sociology ("Postcolonialisms and Global Citizenship") (CES-UC), from University of Coimbra. Works in the areas of Social Sciences with emphasis on Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Sociology and Postcolonial Studies. Published 9 articles in scientific journals and in an Encycopledia. Has 2 chapters of books and 1 book. Co-organized 15 events. Participated in 6 events and in 1 museum exhibition. Has received 2 distinctions: a PhD scholarship from FCT and a research stay as Visiting Scholar in the Linnaeus University, Sweden. Participated in 5 projects. In her curriculum Ciência Vitae the most frequent terms in the context of scientific, technological and artistic-cultural output are: Identity processes; Immigration and Language; Power; Subjectivity; Postcolonial/decolonial; Digital Archive; Diamang; Portuguese Late Colonialism; African Forced Labour ("Cipale"); African Folk Music; Angola - Cokwe Culture; Domination and Resistance; Subalternity.
 

The first part of the seminar will be followed by a book presentation: «O Pluriverso dos Direitos Humanos: a diversidade das lutas pela dignidade» of the series «Epistemologias do Sul», with both editors, Boaventura de Sousa Santos and Bruno Sena Martins.