The Caribbean in Relation

“For through this experience made you, original victim floating toward the sea’s abysses, an exception, it became something shared and made us, the descendants, one people among others. Peoples do not live on exception. Relation is not made up of things that are foreign but of shared knowledge”-Glissant, The Open Boat

In this seminar, we will think with Glissant (1997) as well as others on how the Caribbean is a space of ‘relation’. One of the main questions that we address throughout the course is what are the historical, social and material mechanisms that define the Caribbean and its relationship to geographies produced through colonialism and slavery? To answer this question, we engage the work of historians, anthropologists and geographers interested in the formation of the Caribbean. Students are introduced to foundational concepts like the Black Atlantic, Creolization, Archipelago, and the significance of these concepts to understanding political, cultural and economic life in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean in Relation Playlist
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGjaU48vaTmsDjO8xd5A-fjSdX5jGnASA&si=BuYtkO80YseY5ECn