‘Multiple Caribbeans’ conference to explore identity

Early in her career, it occurred to anthropologist Margaret Mead that exposure to other cultures carries with it a dynamic energy vital to the evolution of both the “home” and the “other” society.

The development of Caribbean cultures is a case in point, and an international conference at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will examine pertinent themes from a number of perspectives.

“Multiple Caribbeans: Performance, Displacement, Identities” will look at the history of displacement to the Caribbean from Africa, Asia, Europe and elsewhere in the Americas. The conference also will investigate ways in which the Diaspora has molded identities of Caribbeans, or people with ancestral roots in the region, and how those identities have been created, expressed and defended.

“In the Caribbean, we witness how Europeans shaped certain colonial societies and cultures in the European image, using ‘raw material’ from all over the world,” says Francisco Scarano, UW–Madison professor of history and director of Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program. Its Caribbean studies task force, a group of faculty, staff and students from across the university, are the main organizers and sponsors of the conference.

“In bringing people from all continents to work for them under harsh conditions, colonizers unwittingly created an array of wonderfully inventive new people. Thanks to our conference, students and the public will have an opportunity to appreciate these acts of creation and enjoy the results,” Scarano says.

The free public events are April 25-27 at Union South. Panel discussions are:

• “Theories of the Caribbean,” Friday, April 26, 9 a.m., Sidney Mintz, Johns Hopkins University; Juan Flores, Hunter College; Lewis Gordon, Boston University; and Edouard Glissant, City University of New York.
• “No Wo/Man is an Island: Gender and Society in the Caribbean,” Friday, April 26, 2 p.m., with Jose Quiroga, George Washington University; Ruth Behar, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor, University of Warwick; and Pin-Chia Feng, National Chiao-Tung University.
• “Identity and Nation in the Caribbean,” Friday, April 26, 4 p.m. With J. Michael Dash, New York University; Ada Ferrer, NYU; and Edward Baugh, Harvard University.
• “Festivals, Popular Religion and Performance,” Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m,.Robin Derby, University of Chicago; Milla Riggio, Trinity College; and Gerard Aching, NYU.
• “Identity and Authenticity in Caribbean Music and Dance,” Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m., Hollis Liverpool, University of the West Indies-Trinidad/Tobago; Angel Quintero-Rivera, Universidad de Puerto Rico; Robin Moore, Temple University; and Travis Jackson, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
• “Diasporic Expressions: Arts, Culture and Literature in the Caribbean,” Saturday, April 27, 4 p.m., Mayra Santos-Febres, Universidad de Puerto Rico and Agymah Kamau, University of Oklahoma.

In addition, John Santos, a percussionist of Puerto Rican and Cape Verdean descent, will deliver the keynote address Thursday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., 109 Union South. Santos has been the UW–Madison Arts Institute Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence this semester. He also will perform with the Machete Ensemble and the Ko-Thi Dance Company Saturday, April 27, at 8 p.m. at the Wisconsin Union Theater. Tickets: Union Theater Box Office, (608) 262-2201.

Also related free public events: Mayra Santos-Febres, Ruth Behar and Agymah Kamau will read from their poetry Friday, April 26, 8 p.m., Canterbury Books, 315 W. Gorham St. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool, eight-time world calypso king and former Minister of Culture of Trinidad and Tobago, will lecture and perform, Saturday, April 27, noon, at Luther’s Blues, 1401 University Ave.

“Multiple Caribbeans” is part of the LACIS program “Year of the Caribbeans.”

Activities in the series will continue through the summer with a teacher training institute and undergraduate seminar. The Caribbean also will be the focus of the summer courses held under the auspices of the university’s “Windows on the World” series and “Sin Fronteras: Building Bridges with the Caribbean.”

For more information, call (608) 262-2811.