Prof. José P. Castiano
Short-Term Fellow
March–July 2026

Bio
José P. Castiano is a Mozambican philosopher and professor in the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies at the Pedagogical University / Universidade Pedagógica de Maputo. Born in Beira in 1962, he studied at the University of Greifswald and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Hamburg, Germany. He holds the chair in African Philosophy, with a specialization in education. In his teaching activities, he collaborates with institutions such as Eduardo Mondlane University, the University of Barcelona, Agostinho Neto University, the Academy of Police Sciences, the Polytechnic University, and the University of Coimbra. He coordinates the research groups on African philosophy and gender relations, as well as the research group on national reconciliation at UP-Maputo.
His research focuses on African Philosophy, Postmodern Philosophy, African perspectives on gender and reconciliation, and the role of education in processes of social and political transformation. Regionally, his work is centered on Africa, with a particular emphasis on Mozambique. His languages of philosophizing include Portuguese, Sena, and English.
Castiano is the author and co-author of numerous works in African philosophy, education, culture, and political thought, including O Inter-munthu: Em Busca do Sujeito da Reconciliação (2023), Do Espírito da Tradição ao Espírito da Reconciliação (2021), Filosofia Africana: Da Traição à Tradição (2019), Filosofia Africana: Da Sagacidade à Intersubjectivação com Viegas (2015), and Referenciais da Filosofia Africana: Em Busca da Intersubjectivação (2010). He has also published on local knowledge systems, university extension in African contexts, and the reception of contemporary African philosophy in Mozambique. In addition, he serves as editor of O Curandeiro – Revista Moçambicana de Filosofia and as Production Editor of Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
Research
African Philosophy, Postmodern Philosophy, African Perspectives on Gender and Reconciliation
Regions
Africa, Mozambique
Languages
Portuguese, Sena, English
Books
O Inter-munthu: Em Busca do Sujeito da Reconciliação, Beira [Moçambique]: Editora Fundza, 2023.
Do Espírito da Tradição ao Espírito da Reconciliação, Maputo: Publifix Edições, 2021.
Filosofia Africana: Da Traição à Tradição (co-authored with Ezio Lorenzo Bono and Lidia Procesi Xella), Maxixe: UniSaF Editora, 2019.
Manifesto: Por Uma Terceira Via (co-authored with Severino Elias Ngoenha), Independently Published, 2019.
Moçambique Neoliberal: Perspectivas Críticas Teóricas e da Práxis (co-organized with Ricardo Raboco, Dulce Maria Passades Pereira, Stélia Muianga and Manuel José de Morais), Quelimane: Ethale Publishing/Editora Educar, 2019.
A Liberdade do Neoliberalismo: Leituras Críticas, Maputo: Editora Educar, 2018.
Filosofia Africana: Da Sagacidade à Intersubjectivação, com Viegas, Maputo: Educar, 2015.
Os Saberes Locais na Academia: Condições e Possibilidades da sua Legitimação, Maputo: Editora Educar/CEMEC/Universidade Pedagógica, 2014.
Pensamento Engajado: Ensaios sobre Filosofia Africana, Educação e Cultura Política (co-authored with Severino Elias Ngoenha), Maputo: Editora EDUCAR, 2011.
Referenciais da Filosofia Africana: Em Busca da Intersubjectivação, Maputo: Ndjira, 2010.
Educar para Quê?: As Transformações no Sistema de Educação em Moçambique, Maputo: Instituto Nacional do Desenvolvimento da Educação, 2006.
Articles
“A construção do pilar “extensão universitária” no contexto africano: a experiência da Universidade Pedagógica – Moçambique”, UDZIWI: Revista da Educação, no. 29 (2018), 162–169.
“Foreword: African indigenous knowledge systems and development”, Indilinga: African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, vol. 15, no. 1 (2016), v–vii.
“The Reception of Contemporary African Philosophy in Mozambique: Between Libertarians and Culturalists”, Philosophia Africana, vol. 17, no. 1 (Fall 2015), 33–43. DOI: 10.5840/philafricana20151714.
“African Philosophy in Mozambique: Between Libertarian and Culturalist Paradigms” in Africana Philosophia / Polylogue, 2015.
“O currículo local como espaço social de coexistência de discursos: estudo de caso nos distritos de Báruè, de Sussundenga e da cidade de Chimoio – Moçambique”, Revista E-Curriculum, São Paulo, vol. 1, no. 1 (2005).
“Bitte, denkt und handelt nicht ethnisch! Wie die mosambikanische Bildungspolitik für die Entwicklung einer “nationalen” Kultur beizutragen versucht. Eine kritische Bilanz seit der Unabhängigkeit Mosambiks”, ZEP: Zeitschrift für internationale Bildungsforschung und Entwicklungspädagogik, vol. 20, no. 4 (1997), 21–26. URN: urn:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-63394. DOI: 10.25656/01:6339.
“Das Bildungssystem in Mosambik: Strukturen, Probleme, Perspektiven” (with Lutz Rainer Reuter), Beiträge aus dem Fachbereich Pädagogik, Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg, 1995, 35 pp., ISSN 0175-310X.
Activities
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Philosophizing in Portuguese: African Perspectives (Workshop)
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From Utopia to Dystopia? An Account of African Liberation Philosophy (José P. Castiano)
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From Dependency to Liberation (Luis Martínez Andrade)
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Transatlantic Resonances: Philosophical Entanglements between Africa and the Americas (Lecture Series)
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The Mozambican School of Philosophy (Workshop)

