Manuel José Lopes da Silva (1927-2007)

First and foremost, Professor Lopes da Silva was the senior colleague of the Department of Social Communication of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA in the early 1980s. Not only was he the oldest colleague but he contributed the greatest academic and professional experience. He was the senior instructor and researcher who always deserved the greatest respect and friendship from all: fellow professors, students and staff.

Since he joined the FCSH Department of Social Communication (formerly known as the Department of Communication Sciences) which comprised mostly much younger instructors, researchers and trainee assistants, whom he always treated with the utmost kindliness, while sharing his prodigious knowledge. He will be remembered by all as someone who was always available to offer kindly advice or a friendly word, to coordinate or take part in research teams, to participate in scientific or editorial projects, always with a strongly ethical stance and great attention to values and human rights, especially in the area of media content.

He made tremendous contributions to solidifying our department in its early years in the first part of the 1980s, as it was being constructed by a multidisciplinary team, as well as in later years as the FCSH’s Communication Sciences teaching and research evolved. All who worked closely with him, therefore, feel a debt of gratitude.

Professor Manuel José Lopes da Silva passed away on June 17, 2007.

Career and bibliographic highlights

Emeritus Full Professor, Department of Communication Sciences, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, New University of Lisbon (FCSH / NOVA).
PhD with Aggregation at the Technical University of Lisbon, former Full Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico and also at the Portuguese Catholic University in the field of Communication Systems and Policies. He held the following positions.
Member of the Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Linguagens (CECL) and President of its General Assembly.
Founding member of SOPCOM – Portuguese Association of Communication Sciences.
Director of the Curso de Ciências da Informação of the Portuguese Catholic University (1980/82).
President of the External Evaluation Commission of the Social Communication Courses of the Foundation of Portuguese Universities in 2000.
Founder and Research Director of Radiotelevisão Portuguesa – RTP until 1987.
Member of the National Telecommunications Council (1980/83).
Member of the Board of the Portuguese Association for the Development of  Communications, APDC (1985/88).
Member of the Board of the Institute of Educational Technology (1983/87).
President of the Portuguese Association of Television Spectators (APET) until 2001.
Honorary President of the Media Consumers’ Association (ACMedia).
He published numerous studies in his field in national and foreign journals and presented papers at national and international colloquia, meetings or congresses.

He published numerous studies in his field in national and foreign journals and presented papers at national and international colloquia, meetings or congresses.

Selected Publications

– Comunicação e Crise da Sociedade (1987). Lisboa: Ed. UCP, 1987. 

– Temas Filosóficos da Comunicação (1990). Lisboa:, Ed. Rei dos Livros.

– Quatro Cosmovisões (2004). Matosinhos: Quidnovi.

CECL Cadernos

Diagnóstico sistémico da sociedade pós-industrial (última lição) seguido de Do «mind-body problem» à realidade virtual (1998). Lisboa: CECL. Cadernos de Comunicação e Linguagens, 2ª série, n.º 1.

Selected articles

– “Diagnóstico Sistémico da Sociedade Pós-Industrial” (1997). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC).
http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-DIAGNoSTICO-SISTeMICO.pdf

– “Do Tempo Absoluto ao Tempo 5D Eónico” (1998). Revista da Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, n.° 12. Lisboa: Edições Colibri, pp. 91-103. run.unl.pt/bitstream/10362/7442/1/RFCSH12_91_103.pdf

– “Processos cognitivos na Comunicação Social” (2000). Cognição e Linguagem. Revista da FCSH Nº 13. http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-procscognitvnacs.pdf

– “As ciências do homem e da natureza hoje” (2000). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-ciencias-homem-natureza.pdf

– “Telecomunicações e sociedade da informação em Portugal e na UE” (2000). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-manuel-telecomunicacoes.pdf

– “Perspectivas Weberianas da Sociedade Rede” (2002). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-perspectivas-weberianas.pdf

– “Cultura e Sociedade da Comunicação” (2002). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-lopes-cultura-informacao.pdf

– “Comunicação Somática e Bioética” (2004). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/lopes-silva-manuel-comunicacao-somatica-bioetica.pdf

– “Temas filosóficos da comunicação na contemporaneidade” (2005). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC).
http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/lopes-da-silva-temas-filosoficos.pdf

– “A Nova Regulação dos Media” (2005). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-manuel-nova-regulacao-media.pdf

– “Audiovisual e interesse público” (2005). Biblioteca Online de Ciências da Comunicação (BOCC). http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/silva-manuel-jose-lopes-da-audiovisual-e-interesse-publico.pdf

Research Project Coordinator

– Impact des nouvelles technologies sur la concurrence dans l’industrie de la télévision en Europe (1988).
Reference: IDATE/CEE 1988
Situation: Concluído; Âmbito: Europeu.
European Responsible Researcher: Jean-Paul Jeandon. Nationally responsible researcher: Manuel José Lopes da Silva.
Funding: IDATE/CEE

– Delimitação e Perspectivas do Audiovisual e das Telecomunicações em Portugal (1990)
Reference: CECL/JNICT 1990
IR: Manuel José Lopes da Silva.
Situation: Concluído; Âmbito: Nacional.
Funding: JNICT – Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica

– Légitimité des valeurs dans les stratégies des communications au Portugal (1992)
Reference: CECL/CNRS 1992
IR: Manuel José Lopes da Silva.
Situation: Concluído; Âmbito: Europeu.
Funding: CNRS – Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

– Observatório Luso-Brasileiro da Comunicação (1998-2000)
Reference: CAPES/ICCTI 1998
Situation: Concluído; Âmbito: Internacional.
IR: Manuel José Lopes da Silva e Lilian França.
Funding: ICCTI-FCT e CAPES