Luso-France: Cultural productions by and about the Portuguese and Luso-descendants in France

Abstract

This introduction to the Special Issue provides a synthetic overview of scholarly and mainstream discussions about the Portuguese presence in France, while addressing how the different articles collectively and individually expand our understandings of the Portuguese in France as themselves highly reflexive producers of culture. We review common images of the Portuguese presence in France, including how Luso-French participants and cultural producers have responded to and contested such images. In particular, we discuss the following: 1. the relative (in)visibility of Portuguese migrants and their descendants from public life in both Portugal and France, as compared to other migrant and postmigrant groups; 2. how Luso-French cultural producers navigate their families' transnational lives and intergenerational relations as material for cultural production; 3. the politics surrounding the (il)legitimacy and differential circulation of various forms of Portuguese and Luso-French cultural products. We hope that the issue's focus on Luso-French cultural productions will allow fresh perspectives, and invite new questions to be asked about the legacies and future directions of Luso-France.