Twentieth Century Studies

Inequality as Path Filtration: A Formal Theory of Spatial Freedom, Distortion, and the Structural Mechanics of Social Exclusion

Gonçalo Melo

This article proposes that social inequality operates through the structural filtration of available paths. Drawing on the Architecture of Freedom Intelligence (AFI) framework, it formalises Freedom as F = P/D—the ratio of Perception (P) to Distortion (D)—and demonstrates that gentrification, forced eviction, and algorithmic rent optimisation share a single mechanism: raising D for existing populations while lowering it for capital. A hospital wayfinding case study quantifies the alternative: stigmergic design achieves 6.7× greater Freedom at one-tenth the cost of structural demolition. Seven falsification criteria and a five-layer protocol for inequality-resistant spatial design are specified.

Keywords: spatial freedom, inequality, path filtration, stigmergia, spatial justice

“For the Portuguese, the center of the world must be Portugal.”

Lara Coletto

This article analyzes the interplay between school historical narratives, Catholicism, and political legitimation in the context of the Portuguese Estado Novo, taking as reference the Compêndio de História Geral e da Pátria (1970). The analysis focuses on volume I, in which the foundational narrative of the Kingdom of Portugal is constructed. It is assumed that the teaching of History constituted an important instrument of ideological formation, particularly by promoting a moralizing, hierarchical, and providential reading of the national past. The study shows that the textbook constructs an interpretation of Portuguese history strongly anchored in the Christian tradition, in which Catholicism appears not only as a religious element but as a uplifting foundation of the nation. Through the selection of episodes, characterization of figures, and thematic organization of content, the narrative associates the formation of Portugal with the defense of Christendom, the action of the clergy, and providential intervention, producing a historical memory coherent with conservative values. It is concluded that the teaching of History, far from operating as a neutral space for knowledge transmission, functioned as an active instance of symbolic legitimation of the regime in twentieth-century Portugal.

O poder transformador da cultura: contribuições de políticas, instituições e práticas artísticas.

Carla Dias

This article analyzes the evolution of cultural policies in Central Alentejo over the 50 years of democracy in Portugal, investigating the intersection between social transformation, public action, and cultural policies. Through a transdisciplinary methodological approach that combines cultural history, cultural analysis, and policy analysis, the study examines the transition from a centralized infrastructural legacy to an intermunicipal governance model. Initially, it explores how the 1976 Constitution and the Local Government Act (1977) shifted the cultural paradigm, elevating culture to the status of a fundamental right and a driver of social transformation and development. In this context, the study highlights "transformative artistic practices" that emerged in the interstices of formal power, such as the Évora Cultural Center and the Oficina da Criança, which materialized cultural decentralization in the region. Subsequently, the focus shifts to the institutionalization of public action through the Association of Municipalities of the Évora District (AMDE) and, later, the Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo (CIMAC). The analysis demonstrates the evolution of intermunicipal action: from technical support focused on upgrading physical facilities (libraries and museums) to the implementation of network-based programming strategies and social inclusion initiatives.

From Philosophy to Method: A Historical Epistemology of the Notion of Individuality in Boasian Anthropology

Alexandru Casian

Through the interdisciplinary lens of historical epistemology, the present work aims to show that individuality is not only a cultural value but also a veritable epistemic operator. The Boasian concept of culture represents much more than a reaction against evolutionism. In his fieldworks, Boas effectively operationalised Herder’s arguments about historicism and cultural particularity. Under these circumstances, their theoretical models require a detailed analysis. Historical epistemology shows how specific conceptual commitments determine the criteria for valid anthropological evidence. By tracing the epistemic use of individuality back to eighteenth-century German historicism, the presents work illustrates significant continuities and discontinuities. From Herder, Boas inherited not only a solid concept of culture but also his epistemic values. The Boasians successfully employed the epistemic notion of individuality to limit imprudent explanatory ambitions while enabling a sustainable historical intelligibility. Individuality shifts from a theoretical construct in Herder's philosophical anthropology to a methodological frame in Boasian anthropology.

Vasco Lourenço: a paradigmatic path of the Coup d’Etat/Revolution of April 25, 1974

João Paulo Avelãs Nunes — 2025-12-28

The aim of this biographical essay is to provide a summary of the role played by today’s Colonel Vasco Lourenço and several other MFA leaders in the set of processes of global political and social transformation that took place in Portugal – and in the non-autonomous territories previously under the tutelage of Lisbon – from 1973 (on the eve of what became the Military Coup/Revolution of April 25, 1974) to 1986, the year of Portugal’s integration into the EEC. It also seeks to analyze both the choices that Vasco Lourenço and many of his MFA comrades sought to make and the options they rejected.
Some information about Vasco Lourenço’s personal, professional, and civic journey is provided to contextualize his involvement in the process that, in 1973, led to the creation of the Captains’ Movement and, later, the coup d’état of April 25, 1974. The main political and ideological currents that emerged within the Armed Forces Movement and the relationships established with other protagonists of the Portuguese revolutionary process (political and union forces, the Church and “Catholic Action,” the Liberation Movements of non-autonomous territories, and diplomatic representations) are analyzed. The implications of the choices made by Vasco Lourenço and other members of the Group of Nine are identified.