Contemporary life is indelibly marked by phenomena of migration, exile, deterritorialization, and reterritorialization, all dictated by various factors (political, economic, environmental, family, or professional), which have found in artistic creations a place of testimony, reflection, reinvention, and intervention. Indeed, both dialogues and cross-overs between the arts, and interdisciplinary approaches to all these social and aesthetic phenomena prove particularly appropriate and stimulating for the study of the consequences of the diasporic dimension in contemporary life and arts.

It is in this sense that Diásporas em Português, a branch of the digital encyclopedia Ulyssei@s, presents itself as a space for the dissemination of writers and other artistic creators of the XX-XXI centuries, in this case, and specifically, Portuguese-speaking authors whose works reveal diasporic paths and issues. While the autobiographical dimension may be relevant, it will not function here as the sole factor for inclusion or exclusion of authors and works. In the same way, the fact that the post-colonial period is privileged does not mean that authors and works prior to this chronological mark will not be included, whenever the diasporic dimension and its thematic derivations are considered relevant.

Diasporas in Portuguese proposes to privilege the notions/images of origin, diversity, and dispersion, to the detriment of those that point to destiny, unity, or fixity, at the same time that it highlights and articulates the transits between the various Lusophone spaces, thus seeking to overcome the limits of critical analysis imposed either by aesthetic categories or national borders.

As work in progress, the entries may be updated whenever necessary, respecting the defined thematic lines and the reflexive nature of this knowledge base.