Academics, professors, students and researchers came together on Friday, April 15, 2011 to share their research at a conference hosted by the CUNY Graduate Center titled Caribbean Epistemologies: Challenges and Conversations. InteRDom representatives were in attendance to hear the presentations, network with experts in the region and gather important experience for the InteRDom Fellows research program.
The Conference focused on how Caribbean societies are conceptualized in the modern post-colonial age, and how this is conveyed by writers, scholars and artists. It was divided into three “panels” and three “conversations.” During the panels, 11 academics presented their research in one of three categories: rethinking identity, detours and returns and contemporary challenges. In the three subsequent conversations, academics, students and the general public debated how programs and institutions can build Caribbean community, Caribbean cultural production and the “Caribbean” in Caribbean studies.
One presentation in particular highlighted some topics currently being explored by the InteRDom program in its 2011 programs, namely reinforcing identity by breaking with the colonial past and integrating into a more global context. The presenter, Ted Sammons of the CUNY Graduate Center, put forth his research on decolonization and social responsibility in Jamaica.
InteRDom’s participation in the symposium was in accordance with its mission to promote research and development in the region. The program seeks to take part in the activities put on by this academic community every three months.