Contextualizing the Caribbean: New Approaches in an Era
of Globalization; Conference
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL, September 29-30, 2000
As we enter the new millennium, scholars across the globe are faced with the increasing disjunction between existing "Western" theory and finding ways to approach the diverse literatures of the Caribbean. How do migrations affect our perspectives of the Caribbean subject? How can postcolonial theory accommodate a growing transnational/global culture? How is Caribbean literature being redefined by shifts in economic, social, and political structures? What are some of the issues in comparing the diverse literatures of the Caribbean? What roles do language, culture, and history play in such comparative approaches? How are exiled identities situated in resisting and/or accommodating colonial power structures in the Caribbean? What underwrites Caribbean historiography?
This conference will explore methods of conceptualizing the Caribbean
within a global context. The following are proposed topics for panels
and/or discussion groups. Panel speakers will give a 20-minute
presentation; discussion participants will give a 10-minute presentation.
Proposed panels/discussion groups:
- The Caribbean and Cultural Studies
- Early Caribbean Literature and the Travel Narrative, 15th to 19th century
- The Caribbean in America: New literatures, new identities
- Past the Postcolonial: Migrations and Transnationalisms
- Mapping the Caribbean: Comparative Perspectives on (within) the
- Literatures of the Caribbean
- Transatlantic Displacements: Colonial Diasporas, Caribbean Connections
Proposed session: Pedagogical Issues in Teaching Caribbean Literature -
Workshop and Roundtable. This session will explore the experiences of
instructors who have taught Caribbean literature in the college classroom. We invite proposals from experienced teachers of Caribbean literature focusing on any facet of pedagogical issues related to Caribbean studies and encourage perspectives from within and outside the Caribbean.
Proposals may focus on specific texts or theoretical issues, including the contexts in which the literature was introduced, the techniques used, the overall success and/or failure of the endeavor, and suggestions for approaching Caribbean literature.
Brief proposals (1-2 pages) for complete panels and/or discussion groups and paper abstracts (1 page) are due to the conference chair by May 15.
Proposals may be submitted via regular mail, e-mail (in the body of the
e-mail and not as an attachment), or fax. You need not be a member of the Caribbean Literary Studies Group to participate.
Conference coordinators: Kathryn Morris (kmorris@umsis.miami.edu) and Lynn Ink (lcink@miami.edu)
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