Marco Roque de Freitas has won a six-year research contract financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the individual international call to Scientific Employment Stimulus - 5th Edition (2022).
Scientific Employment Stimulus (Estímulo ao Emprego Científico in Portuguese) is a program in Portugal aimed at supporting and promoting scientific research by providing funding for the recruitment of highly qualified researchers. The program is managed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), a public institution responsible for the promotion and funding of scientific research in Portugal. The program has different calls for proposals, including individual, institutional, and collaborative projects. The individual call is intended to support the recruitment of highly qualified researchers, including Portuguese citizens and foreigners. The program offers several types of contracts, such as junior, assistant, associate, and principal investigator contracts, depending on the experience and qualifications of the researcher.
Scientific Employment Stimulus (Estímulo ao Emprego Científico in Portuguese) is a program in Portugal aimed at supporting and promoting scientific research by providing funding for the recruitment of highly qualified researchers. The program is managed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), a public institution responsible for the promotion and funding of scientific research in Portugal. The program has different calls for proposals, including individual, institutional, and collaborative projects. The individual call is intended to support the recruitment of highly qualified researchers, including Portuguese citizens and foreigners. The program offers several types of contracts, such as junior, assistant, associate, and principal investigator contracts, depending on the experience and qualifications of the researcher.
Title: Battle of frequencies: musical experience and radio propaganda in times of war in Mozambique (1964-1974)
Position: Junior Researcher
Reference: 2022.03938.CEECIND
Abstract:
This project aims to explore the place of music, radio broadcasting and political propaganda during the liberation war that opposed the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) to the Portuguese dictatorship from 1964 to 1974. Throughout this conflict, Radio was chosen by both factions as the primary propaganda medium since it provided effective communication all over the territory and because 93% of the population was illiterate. Although a central part of warfare, the sonorous dimensions of radio broadcasting – including the choice of language, news, political ideologies, and music – are surprisingly absent from the scholarly narratives on this conflict. This project intends to fill this gap by considering the relationships between the sonorous dimensions of radio broadcasting and the values that undergirded nation-building through sound.
Using the "ethnography of the past" as my primary methodological strategy, drawing on archival work and interviews, this project explores the production and reception processes pertaining to two radio stations reflecting opposing political stances: "A Voz de Moçambique", founded in 1962 by the Portuguese political police (PIDE) to counter the rise of liberation movements; and "A Voz da Frelimo", broadcasting from Tanzania and Zambia to promote the Liberation Front's ideals. The content produced by both stations is yet to be analysed, including local musics, news, radio theatre, among others. In fact, the battle of radio frequencies became a vital part of warfare, allowing both radio stations to maintain a sonic presence in the Mozambican territory, alongside an active military conflict.
Theoretically, this project builds upon the concept of "sonorous capitalism", which analyses nation-building through the consumption of music and radio listening experiences; and "cultural nationalism", focusing on how expressive culture evokes national consciousness. It aims at understanding the main production models, including the instrumentalisation of local expressive practices to serve different ideological values endorsed by both protagonists. It will also delve into multiple listening experiences by different social actors, including radio producers, soldiers, and the general population. By considering different musical contents, this project also aims to identify the role of these radio stations in the production of different notions of "sameness" and "otherness", and contribute to the re-evaluation of the prevalent – and predominantly Eurocentric –narratives on this conflict in African soil.
This research will be conducted in three interrelated stages: 1. The survey, classification, and digitalisation of documents and recordings; 2. Critical analysis of documentation; and 3. Development of original outputs with academic, educational, and public outreach, including a book, an online and physical exhibition, an online database with digitised documentation, and innovative resources for educational programmes.
Position: Junior Researcher
Reference: 2022.03938.CEECIND
Abstract:
This project aims to explore the place of music, radio broadcasting and political propaganda during the liberation war that opposed the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) to the Portuguese dictatorship from 1964 to 1974. Throughout this conflict, Radio was chosen by both factions as the primary propaganda medium since it provided effective communication all over the territory and because 93% of the population was illiterate. Although a central part of warfare, the sonorous dimensions of radio broadcasting – including the choice of language, news, political ideologies, and music – are surprisingly absent from the scholarly narratives on this conflict. This project intends to fill this gap by considering the relationships between the sonorous dimensions of radio broadcasting and the values that undergirded nation-building through sound.
Using the "ethnography of the past" as my primary methodological strategy, drawing on archival work and interviews, this project explores the production and reception processes pertaining to two radio stations reflecting opposing political stances: "A Voz de Moçambique", founded in 1962 by the Portuguese political police (PIDE) to counter the rise of liberation movements; and "A Voz da Frelimo", broadcasting from Tanzania and Zambia to promote the Liberation Front's ideals. The content produced by both stations is yet to be analysed, including local musics, news, radio theatre, among others. In fact, the battle of radio frequencies became a vital part of warfare, allowing both radio stations to maintain a sonic presence in the Mozambican territory, alongside an active military conflict.
Theoretically, this project builds upon the concept of "sonorous capitalism", which analyses nation-building through the consumption of music and radio listening experiences; and "cultural nationalism", focusing on how expressive culture evokes national consciousness. It aims at understanding the main production models, including the instrumentalisation of local expressive practices to serve different ideological values endorsed by both protagonists. It will also delve into multiple listening experiences by different social actors, including radio producers, soldiers, and the general population. By considering different musical contents, this project also aims to identify the role of these radio stations in the production of different notions of "sameness" and "otherness", and contribute to the re-evaluation of the prevalent – and predominantly Eurocentric –narratives on this conflict in African soil.
This research will be conducted in three interrelated stages: 1. The survey, classification, and digitalisation of documents and recordings; 2. Critical analysis of documentation; and 3. Development of original outputs with academic, educational, and public outreach, including a book, an online and physical exhibition, an online database with digitised documentation, and innovative resources for educational programmes.