IN-PERSON Lisbon Livable Cities. Section A
Abstract
In the last decades, Lisbon has been intensifying its multicultural dimension, mainly due to the arrival of migrants from numerous contexts. In the particular case of Asian migrants, the number has steadily increased. In 2022, Asian communities made up 15% (123,875) of the total number of migrants residing in Portugal, with a very significant majority living in Lisbon (52,992). The presence of these communities has contributed to the formation of plural configurations made up of complex layers. This presentation intends to explore the idea of Lisbon as a livable city from the perspective of Asian communities — namely the Chinese and the Hindu communities —, and will focus on children’s literature and storytelling practices as significant cultural approaches to cultural transmission and to the forging of new perspectives about diversity. Drawing on an exploratory ethnographic research, the presentation seeks to discuss how Chinese and Hindu communities in Lisbon use children’s literature to narrate their experiences, transmit cultural memory, and negotiate a sense of identity and belonging in a city undergoing profound social and urban transformations. It will also meditate on the role of children’s stories in creating intergenerational dialogue within Asian communities and in bridging cultural understandings between Asian and Portuguese populations. Preliminary data reveal how these narratives, besides contributing to expand cultural diversity awareness in the Portuguese capital, also pave the way to improve the livability for both Chinese and Hindu children in school and as well as in a broader urban context.
Tânia Ganito is Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon. She holds a PhD in Culture Studies from the Faculty of Human Sciences of the Catholic University of Portugal. Her dissertation explores the interplay of silence and memory in contemporary Chinese art. She is a member of the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) and an invited researcher at the Orient Institute (University of Lisbon). Her research fields include Anthropology of Violence, Visual Culture, and Contemporary Chinese Studies.
Zhou Shenglan: PhD in Communication Studies by Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She is a lecturer in the Master in Asian Studies of the Faculty of Human Sciences since 2017. Researcher at the Research Centre for Communication and Culture. Her main research areas are propaganda and nationalism in Asian education systems. She is the author of publications on the commercialization and mediatization of romantic relationships in contemporary China and nationalist propaganda in the Chinese education system.
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Thursday 10th July, 2025