Societies, Powers, Inequalities
The research field Societies, Powers, Inequalities focuses on the historical analysis of multiple forms of social organisation, power relations and mechanisms of production, reproduction and contestation of inequalities over time, from the medieval period to the contemporary era. Taking a critical perspective and combining different modalities of historiographical knowledge and traditions, this field seeks to understand how social hierarchies – economic, political, religious, legal, cultural, ethnic-racial and gender – were constituted in specific historical contexts and how they were legitimised, negotiated or challenged.
Research in this field focuses on the articulation between local, national, imperial and global scales, exploring the dynamics of domination, resistance and mediation practised by various instances and forms of social organisation, in different spaces and historical periods. It pays particular attention to the forms of power exercised – institutional, informal, symbolic and material – as well as to the individual and collective actors involved, including subalternised and marginalised groups, which are often absent from conventional historical narratives.
This field encompasses studies on the state and governance, religion, labour and economic and social inequalities, justice and repression, political participation and social movements, rights and forms of social exclusion, as well as knowledge, ideology and political culture. It also welcomes approaches that focus more closely on certain institutions that have played a significant role in shaping social systems and reinforcing inequalities of various kinds, such as the University, the Inquisition, the Misericórdias (charitable institutions), or the state apparatus, to give just a few examples.
By combining empirical rigour, methodological innovation and dialogue with other social and human sciences, Societies, Powers, Inequalities asserts itself as a space for critical, plural and socially relevant research, contributing to a deeper historical understanding of the past and contemporary challenges.
Coordination: Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo | mbjeronimo@gmail.com