In recent years, we have witnessed a growing polarisation and radicalisation of the political and public debate on history, which makes it impossible to reach a common understanding of the past, trivialises verbal and physical violence, and legitimises the use of force against views that differ from those deemed normative.

These forms of extremism are often accompanied by nationalist views that champion celebratory historical narratives which erase or deny certain episodes of the past. This is the case with Holocaust denial, the trivialisation of the history of the transatlantic slave trade, or the celebration of the ‘civilising mission’ of European colonial empires.

Although these distorted views of the past are nothing new in the public sphere, their dissemination has been accelerating due to the impact of social media. As a result, they are increasingly being mobilised to legitimise certain political discourses, legislative proposals and, in extreme cases, violent initiatives that undermine democratic institutions and democracy itself.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Slave Wrecks Project inveite Orlando Serrano (Smithsonian Museum of American History) and Marta Lança (Buala) for a conversation that crosses the boundaries between American and Portuguese realities, and which will reflect on the emergence of new forms of nationalism that call into question rights long considered to be firmly established in Western democratic societies.