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2024 Archive
2023 Archive

Event Archive 2016-2022

Jean-Jacques Dessalines: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon Bonaparte

Jean-Jacques Dessalines: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon Bonaparte

Jean-Jacques Dessalines: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon Bonaparte

A Documentary of Arnold Antonin

August 14, 2022
5–7:45 p.m.

In-Person Event

The Don Buchwald Theater
Leonard and Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts
Brooklyn College
2920 Campus Road (Hillel Place and Campus Road)
Brooklyn, NY 11210

Free Screening and Grand Premiere

The documentary screening will be followed with the post-screening conversation with:

  • Arnold Antonin, Cinematographer
  • Professor Pierre Buteau
  • Dr. Nathalie Frédéric Pierre
  • Dr. Patrick Bellegarde-Smith
  • Dr. Frantz-Antoine Leconte

The event is sponsored by CUNY Haitian Studies Institute. Co-sponsors: Haiti Cultural Exchange, The Haitian Times, Little Haiti BK, Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation.

Relighting the Crossroads: Historical and Cultural Encounters Between Haitians and African Americans

Relighting the Crossroads: Historical and Cultural Encounters Between Haitians and African Americans

Relighting the Crossroads: Historical and Cultural Encounters Between Haitians and African Americans

A Virtual Conference

May 20–22, 2022

Sponsors

CUNY Haitian Studies Institute (HSI); Africana Studies Department, Brooklyn College; The Haitian Times; Haiti Cultural Exchange

More Information

Contact us via e-mail.

Jacques Stéphen Alexis at 100: The Novelist as Revolutionary

Jacques Stéphen Alexis at 100: The Novelist as Revolutionary

Jacques Stéphen Alexis at 100: The Novelist as Revolutionary

April 22, 2022
3–5 p.m. EST

Jacques Stéphen Alexis (1922–61), arguably the most notable writer of Haiti’s post-indigéniste literary period, would have turned 100 this April. To commemorate the centenary of this iconic Haitian literary and political figure, the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute will hold a virtual symposium on his life and work. A distinguished panel of Alexis scholars and literary critics will examine and reflect on Alexis’ dual legacy as an innovative novelist and a Marxist revolutionary.

Guest Speakers

  • Asselin Charles, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Literary Critic and Translator
  • Jasmine Claude Narcisse, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Literary Critic and Translator
  • Marie-José Nzengou Tayo, Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Retired Associate Professor at The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus
  • Claudy Delne, Ph.D., Independent Scholar and Literary Critic
Jèn Ti Fi: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

Jèn Ti Fi: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

Jèn Ti Fi: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

An International Women’s Day Virtual Conference on Haitian Womanhood

with Régine Michelle Jean-Charles

March 9, 2022
6–7:30 p.m.

Régine Michelle Jean-Charles will discuss how Haitian girls are represented in film, photography, and fiction. The visual and literary texts analyzed offer stories of Haitian girlhood that center their experiences, amplify their voices, and complicate their subjectivities. Her presentation will examine how Haitian girls are invisibilized, while simultaneously focusing on what and how Haitian girls see for themselves.

Régine Michelle Jean-Charles received her Ph.D. from Harvard University. She is currently the director of Africana Studies, Dean’s Professor of Culture and Social Justice, and professor of Africana Studies and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern University.

COVID-19 and the mRNA Vaccine Technology

COVID-19 and the mRNA Vaccine Technology

COVID-19 and the mRNA Vaccine Technology

  • Children and COVID-19
  • Vaccine Hesitancy
  • Vaccine Access
  • Rights, Responsibilities, and Public Health Crises
  • COVID-19: Protecting Ourselves and Our Bodies

April 17, 2021
4–6 p.m. ET

  • Margarett S. Alexandre, Ph.D.
  • Cassandra Demosthenes, M.P.H.
  • Emile Jean-Baptiste, M.D/Ph.D.
  • Mario Saint-Laurent, M.D.

The CUNY HSI in collaboration with Espas Kreyòl and HAUP.

Margarett S. Alexandre, Ph.D.

Margarett Alexandre holds a doctorate degree in nursing from the CUNY Graduate Center. She is assistant professor and academic coordinator at the York College Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences and Professional Programs of the City University of New York (CUNY). Her research interest involves disability study in the post-2010 Haiti earthquake. Alexandre also serves as a mentor to students and engages in various community initiatives for health improvement both nationally and internationally. She shares a great interest in transcultural nursing education, community engagement, service-learning, active learning strategies, and health disparities.

Cassandra Demosthenes, M.P.H.

Cassandra Demosthenes is a senior manager for community-based programs at Diaspora Community Services (DCS). She holds an M.P.H. with a focus on epidemiology from SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and a dual B.S. in biology and psychology from St. Peter’s University.

Emile Jean-Baptiste, M.D. / Ph.D.

Dr. Emile Jean-Baptiste holds both a medical degree from Cornell University Medical College and a doctorate degree from Fordham University. Dr. Jean-Baptiste has authored numerous medical and scientific publications covering various topics. His clinical areas of interest include general internal medicine, infectious diseases, public health, immunology, virology, and oncology. He also completed a postgraduate training in internal medicine at Cornell and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Mario Saint-Laurent, M.D.

Dr. Saint-Laurent holds a medical degree from the Universidad Autonoma De Guadalajara, Facultad De Medicina in Mexico. His specialization is pediatrics medicine. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Saint-Laurent is affiliated with Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center, among others. Dr. Saint-Laurent is active in the international organization Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad (AMHE).

COVID-19 and the health of the Haitian community in New York City

COVID-19 and the health of the Haitian community in New York City

COVID-19 and the Health of the Haitian Community in New York City

May 15, 2020
5–7 p.m.

Panelists

Florence Saint-Jean is the executive director of Global Trauma Research (GTR), and a faculty member at New York City (NYU) Steinhardt. Saint-Jean earned a doctorate of philosophy in executive counseling and supervision. At Harvard University Medical School, she finished a postdoc in global mental health: trauma and  recovery. Under her leadership, GTR has two main initiatives: The Counseling Hub and The Trauma Project. The Counseling Hub serves underrepresented people in New York City and tackles major issues, such as domestic violence, sexual assault gender/sexuality, relationship issues, immigration, undiagnosed mental illness, and grief for Haitian-Creole-, French-, and Spanish-speaking residents. Saint-Jean may be contacted via e-mail.

COVID-19 and the health of the Haitian community in New York City

COVID-19 and the health of the Haitian community in New York City

Fontaine Joseph, RRT-NPS is a respiratory therapist and certified cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructor with more than 15 years of experience. Joseph works as RRT at NYC Health Hospital Coney Hospital and Brookdale University Medical Center. He is the founder of NYCHCPA NYC HealthCare Professionals Association and Joseph Maintenance and Cleaning Service, LLC. In the former he also serves as a chairman and president, while in the latter he is the CEO. Joseph is a CUNY graduate with degrees from Borough of Manhattan Community College and New City College of Technology. Joseph may be contacted via e-mail.

Girardin Jean-Louis, Ph.D., is professor of population health and psychiatry at the NYU Langone Health and director of the NHLBI-funded PRIDE Institute on Behavioral Medicine and Sleep Disorders Research. He has served on the NIH Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the Cancer, Heart, and Sleep Epidemiology (CHSE-B) study section, and several NIH Special Emphasis Panels/Scientific Review Groups. Jean-Louis has been involved in several important NIH-funded studies, which have led to over 300 publications, primarily in sleep deficiency and cardio-metabolic diseases, circadian rhythm, and health equity. Jean-Louis may be contacted via e-mail.

Dr. Christina Pardo, M.D., M.P.H., is a first-generation Haitian-American raised in New York. She graduated with honors with a B.S. in biology from Howard University. Then she attended Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey. Dr. Pardo also completed a Master of Public Health in international health at Boston University. Passionate about women’s health, she decided to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynecology. Her desire to work with and for underserved and immigrant populations led her to do her residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Throughout her education and training she has traveled to Haiti to work with various health-based organizations. Following residency training, she joined the faculty at Stony Brook University, where she cofounded the Global Women’s Health program. Dr. Pardo may be contacted via e-mail.

Karline Barthe B.S.N., RN, is the head nurse at NYC Health Hospital Coney Island Hospital for Stroke, Chemotherapy and Medicine unit. Barthe’s nursing career spans 24 years. She holds degrees from Medgar Evers College and Farmingdale State University and is currently obtaining MSN Organizational Leadership with advance certificate in education at CUNY SPS. She is a co-founder of NYCHCPA NYC HealthCare Professional Association, a Sigma Theta Tau nurse leader, and CUNY SPS Ace Scholar Mentor at Nursing Career Mentor Research Foundation. Barthe may be contacted via e-mail.

Moderator

Jean Eddy Saint Paul, Ph.D. is a tenured professor of sociology and the founding director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute housed at Brooklyn College. Saint Paul is an internationally renowned sociologist and scholar. He holds a B.A. in social work from the State University of Haiti, an M.A. in Latin American studies from Pontificia University in Bogotá, Colombia, and a Ph.D. in sociology from El Colegio de México. Most of his scholarly work oscillates geographically between Latin America and the Caribbean—with special focus on Haiti and Mexico. His most recent book is Between Two Worlds: Jean Price-Mars, Haiti, and Africa (Lexington Books, 2018). Saint Paul may be contacted via e-mail or Twitter.

JÈN TI FI: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

JÈN TI FI: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

ÈN TI FI: Haitian Girlhood in a Global Frame

March 12–26, 2020

A film series presented by the French program, co-sponsored by the Haitian Studies Institute. Films are free and open to the public. Subtitles are in English.

Followed by a lecture and discussion with Régine Michelle Jean-Charles.

This lecture examines how Haitian girls are seen and heard in film, photography, and fiction. The visual and literary texts analyzed offer stories of Haitian girlhood that center their experiences, amplify their voices, and complicate their subjectivities. Through close readings of photography by FotoKonbit, an organization dedicated to documenting Haitians by Haitians, and analyses of the novel Aux frontières de la soif by Kettly Mars, and Raoul Peck’s film L’homme sur les quais, we will discuss how girls are invisibilized, while simultaneously focusing on what and how Haitians girls see for themselves.

Régine Michelle Jean-Charles (Ph.D., Harvard University) is associate professor of French at Boston College. She is the author of Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary (Ohio University Press 2014). Her research and teaching interests include francophone African and Caribbean literatures and cultures, feminist theory, human rights in the humanities, and Haitian studies.

Organized by professors Nina Verneret and Vanessa Pérez-Rosario. For more information, contact the Modern Languages and Literatures Department via e-mail.

L’Home Sur Les Quais

  • Raoul Peck, 1993, 106 min.
  • March 12, 11 a.m.–2:15 p.m.
  • 4227 Boylan Hall
  • MLL Student Lounge

Woch Nan Soley

  • Patricia Benoit, 2012, 95 min.
  • March 18, 2:15–3:30 p.m.
  • MLL Student Lounge, 4227 Boylan Hall

Douvan Jou Ka Léve

  • Gessica Généus, 2017, 51 min.
  • March 26, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
  • Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library
Poster for

Poster for “We Remember: A 10-Year Retrospective on the Earthquake in Haiti” at the University of Kansas.

We Remember: A 10-Year Retrospective on the Earthquake in Haiti at the University of Kansas

Fatal Assistance in Haiti Post-Earthquake

January 28, 2020
4–7 p.m.
OMA Classroom

Showing of the film Fatal Assitance by Raoul Peck followed by Q&A with Rachel Denney and Pere DeRoy (Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies) and Bartholomew Dean (Anthropology). Refreshments will be provided.

Remembering the Earthquake 10 Years Later

January 30, 2020
Noon–3 p.m.
Kansas Room, KU Memorial Union

Showing of the film Ayiti, Mon Amour by Guetty Felin followed by Q&A with Jean Eddy Saint Paul (Department of Sociology at Brooklyn College and founding director of the City University of New York’s Haitian Studies Institute) and Giselle Anatol (Department of English), moderated by Rachel Denney.

Poster for 'The Battle of Vertières: A Historical Perspective.'

Poster for ‘The Battle of Vertières: A Historical Perspective.’

The Battle of Vertières: A Historical Perspective

November 18, 2019
6–9 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

The City University of New York’s Haitian Studies Institute, in cooperation with the Department of History, is pleased to invite you to Professor Suzy Castor’s lecture on the Battle of Vertières to commemorate the 216th anniversary of that historic battle, through which Africans enslaved, and military and political leaders of Saint Domingue defeated the French army of Napoléon Bonaparte on November 18, 1803.

Castor, a prominent Haitian public intellectual, holds a Ph.D. in history from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She is also the founding director of the Center for Economic and Social Research and Training for the Development of Haiti (CRESFED), a professor of history at the State University of Haiti, and member of the Executive Committee of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO).

Poster for 'Maurice Sixto: Telling Haitian Stories with Humor'

Poster for ‘Maurice Sixto: Telling Haitian Stories with Humor’

Maurice Sixto: Telling Haitian Stories with Humor

Haitian Creole Language and Culture 2019 Symposium

October 25–26, 2019
Friday: 5–9 p.m., Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library
Saturday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m., 148 Ingersoll Hall Extension

Invited Speakers

  • Rozvel Jean-Bapiste, Medger Evers College (CUNY)
  • Menès Dejoie, Espas Kreyòl
  • Régine Joseph, Queens College (CUNY)
  • Ethson Otilien, Université d’État d’Haïti
  • Yves Raymond, Espas Kreyòl
  • Jocelyne Gray, Voix & Tambours d’Haïti
  • Frenand Léger, Carleton University
  • Ludovic Comeau, DePaul University
  • Hugues Saint-Fort, Espas Kreyòl
  • Marie Lily Cerat, Brooklyn College
  • And others

Exhibit of books, arts and crafts, cultural performances, and Haitian cuisine.

Organizers

  • Haitian Studies Institute, Brooklyn College
  • Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
  • Espas Kreyòl
  • Foundation Maurice A. Sixto
  • HAFECE
  • HAUP
  • ILETC-CUNY Graduate Center
  • New York Statewide Language RBERN@NYU
  • SHR & Perspectives Haïtiennes
Poster for Chèche Lavi.

Poster for Chèche Lavi.

Screening of the New Documentary Chèche Lavi With Producer Rachel Cantave

September 21, 2019
2–5 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Join HSI for the screening of Chèche Lavi, a documentary film by Sam Ellison and produced by Abraham Ávila, Rachel Cantave, and Nora Mendis.

Producer and anthropologist Rachel Cantave, who holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from American University and who is currently an assistant professor at Skidmore College, will present Chèche Lavi at Brooklyn College.

Chèche Lavi deals with the life experiences of Haitian immigrants who in 2016 got stuck in Tijuana on the Mexico–U.S. border, following a mass migration from Brazil. The film explores the relationship between two Haitian men whose friendship and futures were altered by incomprehensible geopolitical forces. Rather than create a journalistic view of this issue, the film conveys a poetic and humanistic view of longing: for a place to belong, for a stable life, for connection, and for companionship.

Poster for 'HAITIAN JAZZ AND AMERICAN JAZZ: Historical Connections and Specificities.'

Poster for ‘HAITIAN JAZZ AND AMERICAN JAZZ: Historical Connections and Specificities.’

Haitian Jazz and American Jazz: Historical Connections and Specificities

Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College

September 20, 2019
5–9 p.m.
Don Buchwald Theater, Brooklyn College

The Haitian Studies Institute, in collaboration with the Conservatory of Music of Brooklyn College, the Brooklyn College Big Band, and The Haitian Times, is pleased to invite you to “Haitian Jazz and American Jazz: Historical Connections and Specificities.”

An academic panel discussion with:

  • Alix “Buyu” Ambroise, Jr., Haitian-American saxophonist and jazz artist
  • Melvin L. Butler, Ph.D, associate professor of musicology, University of Miami
  • Jean Chardavoine, Haitian-American artist
  • Joel Widmaier, Haitian artist and president of Foundation Haiti Jazz
  • Pauline Jean, Haitian American jazz vocalist
  • MC: Vania André, publisher and editor-in-chief, The Haitian Times

The panel discussion will be followed by a jazz concert. Food and soft drinks will be served.

Poster for 'Caribbean Connections: Kreyòl Ayisyen oubyen Ayisyen?'

Poster for ‘Caribbean Connections: Kreyòl Ayisyen oubyen Ayisyen?’

Caribbean Connections: Kreyòl Ayisyen oubyen Ayisyen?

A cross-disciplinary discussion regarding the controversial Haitian Creole or Haitian Language Debate

September 6, 2019
2 p.m.

Join Jean Eddy Saint Paul, professor of sociology, founding director of the CUNY-wide Haitian Studies Institute, and Wynnie Lamour, educator, founder, and managing director of the Haitian Creole Language Institute, for an engaging discussion about Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole).

About Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole)

Officially recognized in 1987, Kreyòl Ayisyen (Haitian Creole) is one of two official languages of Haiti and is the mother tongue of over 10 million people worldwide. Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century, when enslaved Africans were brought to the French West Indian colony of San Domingo. They revolted against the army troops of Napoleon Bonaparte and, in 1804, Haiti defeated the French and became the first Black-led republic of the Western Hemisphere and the first independent Caribbean state.

About Caribbean Connections

Caribbean Connections is a program celebrating the history and culture of people of Caribbean descent, exploring their contributions in the performing and visual arts, literature, history, film, and more!

About Our Guests

Jean Eddy Saint Paul is a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the founding director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute (CUNY-HSI) at the City University of New York. A political and cultural sociologist with a strong focus on social theory, Saint Paul has conducted theoretical and applied research in Haiti and Mexico, authored books and articles about civil society, political sociology of the Haitian state and ruling class, and the intersection between politics and religion. He is a recipient of the 2017 Outstanding Service to the Residents of Brooklyn honor and an inductee into 2017 The Haitian Roundtable (HRT), and was named the 2017 Haitian-American Changemaker for Outstanding Achievement in Education. He served as a juror for the 2017 Haitian Studies Association (HSA) Book Prize and the LASA Haiti-DR Isis Duarte 2018 Book Prize. Saint Paul holds a B.A. in social work from the State University of Haiti, an M.A. in Latin American studies from Pontificia University Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia, and a Ph.D. in sociology from El Colegio de Mexico.

Wynnie Lamour is a New York City–based Haitian-American educator specializing in language and communication. She is the founder and managing director of the Haitian Creole Language Institute (HCLI). Lamour’s philosophy of teaching is rooted in the idea of “mindfulness,” which promotes community and connectedness, while establishing a sense of pride and respect for both the Haitian language and culture. In 2016, she presented a workshop titled “#ReHumanizingHaiti or the Role of Technology and Social Media in Language Activism/Advocacy for Historically Undervalued Languages” at the Annual WikiConference in San Diego. Most recently, she participated in New York University’s CAS Innovation in Language Teaching Program. She holds a B.A. in linguistics from Cornell University and an M.A. in urban affairs from Queens College (CUNY). Her work includes a translation of an excerpt of the Franketienne novel Dezafi, published by Transition Magazine (Issue 111, New Narratives of Haiti), a publication of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University.

Poster for 'Maurice Sixto, gran lodyansè devan Letènèl'

Poster for ‘Maurice Sixto, gran lodyansè devan Letènèl’

Maurice Sixto, gran lodyansè devan Letènèl

Brase lide ant Doktè Janbatis ak patisipan yo sou Sixto

Yon fim Arnold Antonin

Espas Kreyòl ap prezante

18 me 2019
5–8:45 p.m.

Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library
2900 Bedford Avenue
Brooklyn, NY

Pou enskri: Rele (917)538-6130
Onson Voye Imèl
Nan: espaskreyol@gmail.com

Espas Kreyòl declare 2019 se lane Sixto, Sanba natifnatal

Ote ZabElbok * Ti Sentaniz * Lea Kokoye, elatriye

Patnè: HAFECE, Foundation Maurice A.SIxto, Haitian Studies Institute @ Brooklyn College, Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation

DÉZAFI - Launching the English Translation of Frankétienne’s Masterful Work

DÉZAFI – Launching the English Translation of Frankétienne’s Masterful Work

DÉZAFI – Launching the English Translation of Frankétienne’s Masterful Work

March 19, 2019
5:05–7:30 p.m.
Gold Room, Student Center

The CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, in cooperation with the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, Department of Africana Studies, and the Caribbean Studies program, presents:

  • Frankétienne—writer, musician, painter, and activist
  • Asselin Charles, Ph.D.—scholar of Black Atlantic literature

for the launch of the English translation of Kreyòl novel Dézafi.

An outspoken challenger of political oppression, Frankétienne is considered by many to be the “father of Haitian letters.” A candidate for the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature, he was presented France’s prestigious Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2010. Asselin Charles had a long career as a professor of comparative literature and is now an independent scholar. He earned his doctor of philosophy in comparative literature in 1988 at Penn State University. A scholar of the literature of Africa and the African diaspora, Charles focused his research on the parallels and intersection of writings from the Caribbean and the Harlem Renaissance. He is known for a number of notable English translations, including Frankétienne’s novel Dézafi, described by its publisher, The University of Virginia Press, as “the tale of a plantation that is run and worked by zombies,” that is “a powerful allegory of political and social liberation.”

Poster for 'Honoring Our Sheroes'

Poster for ‘Honoring Our Sheroes’

Honoring Our Sheroes

Women of Distinction Award Ceremony

March 14, 2019
6–8 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Join Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte as we celebrate exceptional women in our community. Presenters: Mistress of Ceremonies Farah Louis, Special Presenter Professor Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome.

Honorees for 2019:

  • Eda Hastick—Education
  • Anne Gaudet—Lifetime Achievement
  • Susannah Laskaris—Environmental Activism
  • Robin Redmon—Community Engagement
  • Regine Roumain—Arts and Entertainment
  • Victoria Stennett—Business and Enterpreunership

For more information about this even or any community concern, contact Assemblymember Bichotte’s district office.

Poster for 'My Soul Is in Haiti'

Poster for ‘My Soul Is in Haiti’

My Soul Is in Haiti: Protestantism in the Haitian Diaspora of the Bahamas

February 26, 2019
3:40–5 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Haitian-American anthropologist and author Bertin M. Louis Jr, will discuss his latest book, My Soul Is in Haiti: Protestantism in the Haitian Diaspora of the Bahamas.

Join Professor Louis for an evening of conversation on the topic of religion and the growth of forms of Protestantism in the Haitian communities of the Bahamas. Louis will cover the topics of the religious identity in the Bahamas and analyze the reasons why Protestantism appealed to the Haitian diaspora in the region.

 Annual Caribbean Writers Series

Annual Caribbean Writers Series

Annual Caribbean Writers Series

Featuring Keynote Speaker Dr. Gina Athena Ulysse

February 7, 2019
5-7 p.m.
Little Theater at St. Johns University
8000 Utopia Pkwy, Jamaica, NY

Haitian-American anthologist, poet, feminist, performance artist, activist, and professor of anthropology at Wesleyan University will be giving a talk within the interdisciplinary and intersectional field of Haitian studies.

Celebrating the Battle of Vertières poster

Celebrating the Battle of Vertières poster

Celebrating the Battle of Vertières

Beyond Vertières: A Decolonial History of the Haitians

November 16, 2018

3–5 p.m.
Brooklyn College Library

Second exhibition of the Haitian art exhibit “Beyond Vertières,” with introductory remarks by Michael Phillippe Lerebours.

6–8 p.m.
Gold Room, sixth floor, Brooklyn College Student Center
2705 Campus Road

“A Decolonial History of the Haitians” lecture by Professor Jean Casimir, Ph.D., sociologist, State University of Haiti, former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Haiti to the United States of America from 1991 to 1997.

Reception catered by Nadege Fleurimond.

Caribbean Connections poster

Caribbean Connections poster

Caribbean Connections

When the Drum Is Beating

October 26, 2018
2 p.m.

Mid-Manhattan Library at 42nd Street
New York Public Library
476 5th Avenue
New York, NY

The award-winning film directed by Whitney Dow explores Haiti’s complex past and present through the music of the country’s oldest and best-known band, Septentrional, and the memories of its founder and leader, Ulric Pierre-Louis. (Haiti, Documentary, 2011, 89 min.)

Introductory talk by Jean Eddy Saint Paul, professor of sociology, founding director, CUNY-wide Haitian Studies Institute, housed at Brooklyn College.

Performing Haiti / Haiti in Performance poster

Performing Haiti / Haiti in Performance poster

Performing Haiti / Haiti in Performance

October 1, 2018
2:15–3:30 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Omise’eke Tinsley is associate professor of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas, Austin, and the 2018–19 F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Harvard University. In Thiefing Sugar: Eroticism Between Women in Caribbean Literature (2010) and Ezili’s Mirrors: Black Queer Genders and the Work of the Imagination (2018), Tinsley’s research emphasizes that creative queer and feminist theorizing has a long, transnational history. Her work also commits to imagining Black feminist futures in the African Atlantic.

Gina Athena Ulysee is a feminist artist-academic-activist and self-described post-Zora interventionist. She is the author of numerous articles, essays, and creative works. Her latest publication, Because When God Is too Busy: Haiti, Me & THE WORLD (2017), is a collection of photographs, poetry, and performance texts. This book was long listed for a 2018 PEN Open Book Award. She is a professor of anthropology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

Gabrielle Civil is a Black feminist performance artist and writer, originally from Detroit. She has premiered 50 original performance art works around the world, a trilogy of diaspora grief works after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Her memoir in performance art, Swallow the Fish, was named by Entropy a “Best Non-Fiction Book of 2017.” Her forthcoming book, Experiments in Joy, engages race, performance, and collaboration. She serves on the faculty in the M.F.A. Creative Writing and B.F.A. Critical Studies program at the California Institute of the Arts. The aim of her work is to open up space.

Mouth of the Phoenix poster

Mouth of the Phoenix poster

Mouth of the Phoenix

September 25, 2018
12:30–2 p.m.
3309A James Hall

“Mouth of the Phoenix” is a conversation centered around the sharing of life challenges and accomplishments of Black and Latino figures within the Brooklyn College and the broader Brooklyn community.

Jean Eddy Saint Paul is the director and founder of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, housed at Brooklyn College, and an internationally known sociologist. His geographic focus is Latin American and the Caribbean, with expertise on Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. He earned a B.A. in social work from the State University of Haiti, then completed an M.A. in Latin American studies from Pontificia University in Bogotá. Saint Paul holds a Ph.D. in sociology from El Colegio de México and was the first Haitian to do so since the founding of the college in 1940.

Panel Discussion: Music and the (Re)making of Identities in the Diaspora: Comparative Study of Haitians & Dominicans

Panel Discussion: Music and the (Re)making of Identities in the Diaspora: Comparative Study of Haitians & Dominicans

Panel Discussion: Music and the (Re)making of Identities in the Diaspora: Comparative Study of Haitians & Dominicans

September 6, 2018
6–8:45 p.m.
Penthouse, seventh floor, Brooklyn College Student Center
2705 Campus Road

The CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, while celebrating its second anniversary, cordially invites you to a panel discussion on “Music and the (Re)making of Identities in the Diaspora: Comparative Study of Haitians & Dominicans.”

The panel discussion, co-sponsored by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, will be followed by a musical performance. Food and soft drinks will be served.

Moderator

Jean Eddy Saint Paul, sociologist, director of the CUNY-wide Haitian Studies Institute

Panelists

  • Essud Fungcap, a former lead vocal of Magnum Band
  • Andre Veloz, Dominican-American singer specialized in Bachata
  • Alix “Buyu” Ambroise, known as one of the best Haitian saxophonists ever
  • Enriquillo Tejada, frontman of Los Clarinetes Magicos
  • Alix Pascal, a well-known guitarist and performer
La Revolution Haitienne dans L'imaginaire Occidental: Occulation, balanisation, et trivialisation by Claudy Delne

La Revolution Haitienne dans L’imaginaire Occidental: Occulation, balanisation, et trivialisation by Claudy Delne

Conversation and Book Signing of La Révolution Haïtienne dans L’imaginaire Occidental: Occulation, balanisation et trivialization, by Claudy Delne (Port-au-Prince: Editions de l’Universite d’Etat d’Haiti, 2017)

Organized by the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute

May 15, 2018
6–8:30 p.m.
Gold room, sixth floor, Student Center

Welcome Remarks

Presenter

  • Claudy Delne (author)
Presentation and Book Signing of Rose-Mercie, by Maggy Belin (a novel of the first U.S. occupation of Haiti 1915–34)

Presentation and Book Signing of Rose-Mercie, by Maggy Belin (a novel of the first U.S. occupation of Haiti 1915–34)

Presentation and Book Signing of Rose-Mercie, by Maggy Belin (a novel of the first U.S. occupation of Haiti 1915–34)

Organized by the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute and co-sponsored by Rezo Nodwes and Haiti Futur

May 10, 2018
6–8:30 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Welcome Remarks

Presenter

  • Maggy Belin (writer)
The History of Literature And Literature of Haitian History

The History of Literature And Literature of Haitian History

The History of Literature and Literature of Haitian History

Organized by the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute

April 27, 2018
3–5 p.m.
Occidental Lounge, fifth floor, Student Center

Welcome Remarks

Panel

  • Lyonel A. Trouillot (Haitian novelist and Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres)
  • Pierre Buteau (professor of history and president of the Haitian Society for History, Geography and Geology)
Politics of Immigration in U.S. Today

Politics of Immigration in U.S. Today

Politics of Immigration in U.S. Today

Organized by the Robert L. Hess Scholar-in-Residence Program in co-sponsorship with the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute.

March 27, 2018
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

Moderator

Panel

Celebrating the Battle of Vertieres

Celebrating the Battle of Vertieres

Celebrating the Battle of Vertieres

The Universal Dimension of Haitian Culture, History, and Politics of Memory

Sponsored by the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute with the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Foundation, the Haitian Times, and the Department of Africana Studies at Brooklyn College

November 16, 2017
4–9 p.m.
Brooklyn College Library

4–6 p.m.: Haitian art exhibit featuring the following artists:

  • Patricia Brintle
  • Essud Fungcap
  • Eric Girault
  • Yolene Legrand
  • Michèle Voltaire Marcelin
  • Emmanuel Merisier
  • Frenal Mezilas
  • Joseph M.E. Placide
  • Gina Samson

6–9 p.m.: “National and International Dimensions of the Haitian Revolution”

A conference led by Professor Pierre Buteau, president of the Haitian Society of History and Geography

Exhibit

The art exhibit will be open November 16–27, 2017.

Disaster Preparedness and Sustainable Development in Haiti

Disaster Preparedness and Sustainable Development in Haiti

Disaster Preparedness and Sustainable Development in Haiti

Presented by the International Alliance for the Advancement of Children and the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College

Panel discussion with nonprofit and grassroots organizations from the New York area, Connecticut, and Maryland on coordinating U.S. relief efforts:

  • Moderator: Marianne C. Fahs, Professor, CUNY School of Public Health
  • Public health: disease containment and outbreak post-disaster
  • Water, sanitation, and food security
  • Collaboration opportunities

Workshop discussion:

  • Facilitator: Elizabeth Thompson, Architect
  • Pre-catastrophe education
  • Evacuation procedure
  • Housing and infrastructure

October 7, 2017
2–5 p.m.

Film Screening and Conversation

Film Screening and Conversation

Film Screening and Conversation

with Arnold Antonin, Filmmaker

Winner of the FESPACO Paul Roberson Award for the Best Diaspora Film and the MPAH Lifetime Achievement Award

May 16, 2017, 6 p.m.
Penthouse, Brooklyn College Student Center

  • Six Femmes D’Exception / Six Exceptional Women
  • Featuring a conversation with Professor Alexandra Juhasz, chair of the Brooklyn College Film Department

May 17, 2017, 6 p.m.
431 Ingersoll Hall

  • René Depestre: On ne Rate pas une Vie Eternelle / René Depestre: We can’t miss an Eternal Life
A Retrospective of Recent U.S. Foreign Policy in Haiti

A Retrospective of Recent U.S. Foreign Policy in Haiti

A Retrospective of Recent U.S. Foreign Policy in Haiti

A panel discussion, sponsored by the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, the U.S. Department of State, and Brrooklyn College.

  • Moderator: Jean Eddy Saint Paul, Director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute
  • Professor Claude Joseph, Adjunct Professor, Fordham University—Engaging the Haitian Diaspora: A New Path to Development
  • Vanessa Leon, Chief Executive Officer, Pinchina Consulting, Doctoral Candidate in Public Policy and Urban Policy—Decentralization, Governance, and Development in Haiti
  • Ambassador Kenneth Merten, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary & Haiti Special Coordinator, U.S. Department of State—A Retrospective of Recent U.S. Foreign Policy in Haiti

March 28, 2017
6–8 p.m.

Gold Room, sixth floor, Brooklyn College Student Center
2705 Campus Road
Brooklyn, NY

Voice From Haiti: Artists as Activists

Voice From Haiti: Artists as Activists

Voice From Haiti: Artists as Activists

Please join us for a free panel discussion on the role of Haitian artists, both at home and abroad.

Featured panelists:

  • Emiline Michel, Vocalist and Red Cross Ambassador
  • Régine Roumain, Executive Director of Haiti Cultural Exchange
  • Jean Eddy Saint Paul, Director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute
  • Cassandre Thrasybule, Filmmaker and Journalist

March 2, 2017
6:30 p.m.
First floor, Brooklyn College Library

More Information

brooklyncenter.org

Poster for The Outer Periphery: Its Implications for Haiti and Sub-Saharan Countries

Poster for The Outer Periphery: Its Implications for Haiti and Sub-Saharan Countries

The Outer Periphery: Its Implications for Haiti and Sub-Saharan Countries

CUNY Haitian Studies Institute Inaugural Lecture Series

with Professor Robert Fatton, Jr.

Professor Fatton is the Julia A Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several books and a large number of scholarly articles, including Black Consciousness in South Africa (1986); The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975–1985 (1987); Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa (1992); Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002); The Roots of Haitian Despotism (2007); and Haiti: Trapped in the Outer Periphery (2014). He is the recipient of the 2011 Award for Excellence of the Haitian Studies Association for his “commitment and contribution to the emerging field of Haitian Studies for close to a quarter of a century.”

Moderator: Jean Eddy Saint Paul, Director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute

October 14, 2016
6–8 p.m.
Woody Tanger Auditorium, Brooklyn College Library

More Information

jeadeddy.saintpaul@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Brooklyn. All in.