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Caribbean Crossings: Mobility and (In)hospitality in the 20th and 21st Centuries

In this course, students examine the different art forms that reflect the pathways and challenges of Caribbean migrants during the period after the 1946 law of departmentalization in the overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and with the beginning of the Duvalier regime (1957) in the Haitian context. Particular attention is paid to the Caribbean as a diverse region historically and culturally marked by migratory flows, from places of origin, and transit, to destination or return. The class will investigate the concepts of exile, migration, and (in)hospitality interrogating their instability, adjustability, and instrumentalization in local and global contexts. Students will focus on the various art forms which highlight, shape, and challenge in their own way distinct understandings of mobility and hospitality: in particular novels, short stories, theater, visual arts, and TV shows. This course (FREN 339) was taught by Jennifer Boum Make as a Doyle Seminar in spring 2020. Please refer to the current course catalog for an up-to-date description of the course.

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Jennifer Boum Make headshot

Jennifer Boum Make

Department of French and Francophone Studies

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