Caribbean Unbound V

Franklin College Switzerland will be hosting the fifth biennial Lugano Conference on Caribbean Literature and Culture, “The Caribbean Unbound V – ”Vodou and Créolité,” from April 7 to April 9. The conference will be held on the Sorengo (Lugano) Kaletsch campus of the College. The three-day conference will officially kick off with Claudine Michel’s keynote address, “Mama Lola’s Triplets, Haiti’s Sacred Ground and Vodou’s Quintessential Lesson” at 18:30 on Thursday evening, April 7. The keynote address will be followed by a reception in her honor and a film after the reception. The following two days will offer a wide selection of inter-disciplinary topics exploring the history, politics, art, literature, religion, film, music of the Caribbean.  Panels will be primarily held in English, but with many in French and some in Spanish.

This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Claudine Michel, is currently Professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and served as Director of the Center for Black Studies Research from 1996-2002 and again from 2005-2009. She formerly served as Chair of the Department of Black Studies and Acting Chair of the Department of Chicana/o Studies. Her research has appeared in many scholarly journals and academic venues. Dr. Michel is the author of Aspects Moraux et Educatifs du Vodou Haitien and a forthcoming book, Offerings: Continuity and Transformation in Haitian Vodou. She co-edited, among other volumes, Haitian Vodou: Spirit, Myth and Reality and Vodou in Haitian Life and Culture: Invisible Power. Also forthcoming are an anthology on Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat, Crossing Waters and Re-Membering, and two co-edited volumes, God in Every Woman: Gender, Power and Politics in Haitian Vodou and Doktè Gede, Struggles of Life and Death in Haiti. She is editor of the peer-reviewed journal on Haiti, The Journal of Haitian Studies, published by the UCSB Center for Black Studies Research for the Haitian Studies Association, and also serves on their board of directors. Dr. Michel is a member of the new UC Haiti initiative developed by the ten UC campuses in response to the January 12, 2010, earthquake and has served as a chief consultant for the Direct Relief International community grants program developed after the quake.

The Franklin College Conference on Caribbean Literature and Culture was first organized some eight years ago by Dr. Robert H. McCormick, Jr., Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at Franklin College. At previous conferences, keynote speakers were Antonio Benítez-Rojo, J. Michael Dash, Maryse Condé and Jean-Claude Fignolé. Multi-cultural in conception, the conference has grown to global dimensions. This year, literary and cultural scholars from prestigious academic institutions as near as Milan and as far away as Australia, Brazil, Israel, Canada, Poland, England, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Martinique, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Key Conference Facts and Information:

Pre-Conference Registration and Film
Wednesday, April 6, 19:00-21:00
Franklin College Auditorium Foyer

Conference Registration
Thursday, April 7, 16:00-18:30
Friday, April 8, 8:15 - 9:30
Franklin College Auditorium Foyer

Opening Ceremonies and Keynote Address—Claudine Michel
Thursday, April 7, 18:30-19:30
Franklin College Auditorium.  Reception will follow in Holman Hall.

Registered conference attendees are invited to participate in all panels and events including the student and staff prepared Caribbean dinner (Friday night) for a fee of 175 Swiss francs (175 US dollars). Graduate students benefit from a reduced rate of 60 Swiss francs (60 US dollars).  Additional meal tickets for non-conference participants can be purchased at the registration desk for 15 Swiss francs.

The conference is free of charge to all Franklin students, faculty and staff with the exception of the Caribbean dinner which carries an entrance fee of 15 Swiss francs.

Only cash will be accepted at the registration desk.

For more information on Caribbean Unbound IV or a complete conference agenda and program, please see the Conference Program page, write to caribbean_unbound@fc.edu, or contact Consuelo Grieco at +41 91 986 36 09 or Marta Leto at +41 91 986 36 01.