Starting a few years back, I began taking photos of scenes in movies and TV shows that seemed funny, reminded me of friends, or had the possibility of being useful at some point in the future. I sent some of these to friends to make them laugh, but I kept others in archive to be used at a later time. In some cases, that time never came. In others, I was able to make a friend or family member laugh (hopefully out loud in a work meeting).

My friend Carla Bocchetti, a researcher at the French Institute in South Africa, has just produced a wonderful film detailing her work on Homerian epic and the Indian Ocean. Working in Mozambique and Kenya, she has engaged artists and other researchers to explore the potential linkages between Homer’s epic and the Indian Ocean, using local textiles and the terraqueous nature of Homer’s poem.

In 1953, prolific Catalan author Josep Pla made the first of three extensive trips through Portugal. Traveling by car from Barcelona and entering Portugal through Badajoz, Pla would publish the essays that emerged from his travels as the eighth volume of his complete works, titled, Direcció Lisboa (1975).

Bernardo Sassetti, whose work continues to resonate within the world of jazz and contemporary classical music in Portugal, deserves much broader study and appreciation beyond his home country. His music, characterized by its sophisticated interplay of rhythm and melody, is highly innovative but also explores new intellectual ground.

Mobile devices have become integral to our daily lives in the fast-evolving realm of technology. From communication and entertainment to productivity and health, mobile technology plays a pivotal role. As we stand on the cusp of a new era, it's intriguing to explore the future trajectory of mobile technology.

Tal como no Sermão de Santo António aos peixes, Padre António Vieira desenvolve no Sermão de Santa Teresa uma rede de relações simultâneas entre o Céu e a Terra. O que ele adiciona no Sermão de Santa Teresa é o evangelho, que serve de luz do Céu na Terra. E o fim de essas relações é sempre a prática. Podemos ver cada conceito que Vieira emprega—céu, terra, evangelho, luz, etc.—como máquina verbalizada (mais ou menos em sentido deleuziano) que procura ligar-se com outras máquinas para impulsioná-las e assim tecer mais ligações.

I spent a good deal of the morning going over the brief pastoral scenes in Ebrahim Golestan’s Yek atash (A Fire, 1961). Forugh Farrokhzad edited the film, and it seemed worth it to go over the film shot by shot. In one early scene, an oil fire explodes, startling a group of goats grazing nearby. After a bit, the goats become accustomed to the fire and return to grazing. For whatever reason, the film presents these goats as sheep—that is, they are explicitly described as گوسفندان (gusfandan) rather than بزها‎ (boz-ha).

One of the best aspects of academic research is working with people in other disciplines. Last year, I co-authored an essay with Arhaan Gupta-Rastogi (Sacred Heart School). A budding specialist in computational biology, Arhaan taught me a ton about the science and history of blood transfusion. We then combined this with Oswald de Andrade’s mention of “blood transfusors” in his 1928 Manifesto antropófago. Several months later, our work has been accepted in a forthcoming issue of Hispania.

Early European explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Pêro Vaz de Caminha attempt to take power over the world they encounter by mapping it (conceptually and literally). For Franco Farinelli, our maps do not represent the earth so much as the earth has come to take the form of our maps. This has the effect of smoothing over all meaningful alterity and reducing the world to what Byung-Chul Han has referred to as the “Hell of the same."

In a world dominated by Windows, macOS, and Linux, Google's Chrome OS stands as a unique player in the operating system arena. Designed primarily for lightweight, internet-centric computing, Chrome OS has gained popularity over the years, especially in the education sector and among users who prioritize simplicity and speed.

Global harmony amid the tapestry of human connections, the term "Lusophone" emerges as a harmonious thread, weaving together cultures, histories, and nations.

The Earth's climate is a dynamic and complex system that has undergone numerous changes throughout history. However, the rapid changes observed in recent decades have raised concerns about the profound impact of climate change on human life.

Way back in 1987, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions released a song called “Mainstream” on an album by the same name. The chorus goes like this: “Swimming is easy when you're stuck in the middle of the Mississippi/All you have to do is crawl.” The idea is simple: when you’re in the mainstream, you don’t need to work very hard. The current carries you, and any version of the Australian crawl, however weak, is enough to take you out to sea.

Angola is in southwestern Africa, known for its rich cultural heritage and diverse population. The government has a complex history, having been colonized by Portugal for over 400 years before gaining independence in 1975. Today, Angola is home to over 30 ethnic groups with unique cultures, traditions, and languages.

The realm of smartphone technology has witnessed remarkable progress in recent years, propelling us into an era where handheld devices have become indispensable companions. From improved processing power and enhanced displays to advanced camera capabilities and innovative connectivity options, manufacturers continually push the boundaries of innovation.

What is the pastoral? This is difficult to define, as there are several criss-crossing traditions dating back at least to Theocritus in the third century BCE (and maybe Hesiod, depending on whom you believe). The term itself comes from the Latin pastor or “shepherd,” and indeed the pastoral often involves shepherds, others impersonating shepherds, and still others dialogically engaging in what readers immediately recognize as pastoral speech. But there is much more to it.

Over two decades have passed since Aníbal Quijano published “Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America,” but the essay still resonates. In 2009, I participated in a panel on Quijano’s essay, and my short paper is below. It shows my thinking over a decade ago (hardly where it is now, but there is at least a family resemblance between my former self and me), but it also proposes questions that continue to interest me.

Going through some old notes, I came across an outline I pieced together on a Richard Rorty essay devoted to idealism and textualism that really impacted me. I was a big Rorty fan in graduate school, and I’ve probably never drifted that far away from his brand of pragmatism. I always felt he had a “clear mind, full heart” approach to the humanities in general, even if he was publicly circumspect about philosophy. He was probably right about that, too.

As Ettinger articulates it, the matrix is a dimension of the human psyche that exists beside the phallic. It’s a parallel track. The matrix, however, is grounded in female sexual difference, arising from our “universal intrauterine experience.” Hannah Arendt correctly points out that we are all born, but Ettinger takes this one step further, pointing out that we all develop in a womb.

“The House is Black” is a deeply Iranian movie that calls attention to a specifically Iranian social problem; its spoken elements similarly deal with a long tradition of Persian poetry and themes easily recognizable for its Persian-language viewers. That said, there is a profound theorization of poetry itself at work here that intersects with ideas on poetry and ethics from Europe, Africa, and North America during the same period.