On lives, politics and history A conversation with Allen F. Isaacman and Barbara S. Isaacman about activism, Mozambique and other African histories Diogo Ramada Curto and Nuno Domingos Práticas da História, n.º 12 (2021): 216-267 www.praticasdahistoria.pt On lives, politics and history A conversation with Allen F. Isaacman and Barbara S. Isaacman about activism, Mozambique and other African histories by Diogo Ramada Curto and Nuno Domingos* In late 2019, Allen and Barbara Isaacman were in Portugal to conduct research on Samora Machel – guerrilla fighter and first president of the People’s Republic of Mozambique – which led to the book Samora Machel. A life cut short, published in 20201, which will be followed by another biography, more developed and academic in tone. During this research stay, they presented the Portuguese translation of their book about the Cahora Bassa dam2. Since the late 1960s, Allen and Barbara Isaacman have been working on what is now the territory of Mozambique, developing one of the most extensive and solid researches on the history of Africa. Their analyses focus on African political and social structures, the process of Portuguese colonial occupation, and how it affected the lives of African populations. In their books, archival knowledge and oral sources support a historiography concerned with the analysis of field processes, namely with the intention of bringing to the forefront the practices, expectations, and worldviews of the local populations. * Diogo Ramada Curto (
[email protected]). Instituto de Política e Relações Internacionais (IPRI), NOVA FCSH. Rua de D. Estefânia, 195 - 5ºD, 1000-155, Lisboa, Portugal.