Franco-Afro-Caribbean Story

Catalog description

This course is intended to provide an English-language introduction to the history of the French-speaking Antilles and its complex mix of cultures. It will also allow students to read selected writers from Haiti, Martinique and Guadeloupe (in translation). The fundamental characteristics of the course are: 1) A primary focus on historical events, literary modes and the cultures of the francophone Antilles, including the Atlantic slave trade and its aftermath, race and racism, communal relationships, persistent social injustices and forgotten or silenced histories; 2) paying attention to marginalized voices and modalities, in literature and in historiography; 3) emphasizing the rich cultural traditions and intellectual movements arising from (or resonating in) the French Caribbean, including story-telling and orality, creoles, vaudou, opposition to Duvalierism, négritude, antillanité and créolité; 4) critically viewing the relationships between this region and the francophone world at large. Course content includes historical and theoretical readings that will focus on the exercise of power and on persistent forms of injustice and resistance. The course is appropriate for students pursuing minors in Faith- Justice or Africana Studies.