| HAITI 201: SLAVERY, STRUGGLE, AND SURVIVAL |
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| Written by Administrator | |||
| Monday, 17 January 2005 00:00 | |||
 Learn more about Haiti from knowledgable people and interesting films and lectures in Charleston on the evening of Thursday, January 20th and all day on Friday January 21st. A Symposium for the Charleston Community Hosts: Prof. Simon Lewis, Dept. of English, and Karen Moldovan, Communications Museum Co-Sponsors: Communications Museum, Carolina Lowcountry and the Atlantic World (CLAW), Avery Research Center, Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Women's Studies, and Dept.of Political Science The focus of this two-day symposium is a multifaceted examination of Haitian history, politics, art, and culture. Prominent humanities scholars from a range of disciplines -- including history, literature, political science, sociology and anthropology -will join filmmakers, authors, and human rights activists to explore Haiti's past, present, and future. JAN. 20 Location for all today's events: Jewish Studies Center, Arnold Hall, 96 Wentworth Street 6:00 p.m. OPENING PUBLIC RECEPTION 7:00 p.m. DOCUMENTARY FILM AND SPEAKER Film: POTE MAK SONJE: The Raboteau Trial (2003, documentary, 56 min.) Speaker: CHRISTINE CYNN, Co-Producer and Director of Pote Mak Sonje Film Description: In 1994, the military junta that overthrew Jean-Bertrand Aristide indiscriminately massacred scores of Aristide supporters in the fishing village of Raboteau. Told from the perspective of victims of the massacre, this video documentary weaves emotional interviews and extraordinary trial footage to explore how a courageous community mobilized against formidable obstacles to bring about the landmark 2000 Raboteau Trial where victims finally confronted their attackers. As a result of the trial, sixteen military officers were convicted. About the Speaker: Following the film, Award-winning filmmaker Christine Cynn will speak and answer questions about her experiences documenting this historic trial. Dr. Cynn is an English and Women's Studies Professor at Barnard College. In addition to Pote Mak Sonje, she has produced two other films: From "C" Village to "A" Village; which focuses on reproductive healthcare, HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence in Cambodia; and The Perils of Pauline, which documents the lives of formerly homeless people living with HIV. JAN. 21 Location for Morning and Afternoon Events: Avery Research Center, 125 Bull Street Location for Evening Events: Jewish Studies Center, Arnold Hall, 96 Wentworth Street 11:00 a.m. GALLERY OPENING (Avery) -- Exhibition of Haitian art and artifacts 1:30-3:00 p.m. First Panel Discussion: A CULTURAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF HAITI (Avery) Panelists: Dr. Jean Jonaissaint (Duke University), Dr. Carolle Charles (CUNY), and Dr. Jennie Smith (Mt. Berry College) 3:30-5:00 p.m. Second Panel Discussion: THE POLITICS OF HAITI (Avery) Panelists: Dr. Robert Fatton (University of Virginia), Dr. Percy Hintzen (University of Berkeley), and Michelle Karshan (Former Press Secretary for Jean-Bertrand Aristide) 6:00 p.m. PUBLIC RECEPTION (Jewish Studies Center) 7:00 p.m. DOCUMENTARY FILM AND SPEAKER (Jewish Studies Center) Film: THE AGRONOMIST (2003, documentary, 90 min.) Speaker: NADINE DOMINIQUE, Daughter of Jean Dominique; Director Fondation Eko Vwa Jean Dominique. Film Description: Jonathan Demme, Academy-Award winning filmmaker, is the producer, director, and screenwriter of this film. The Agronomist tells the story of Haitian national hero, journalist, and freedom fighter Jean Dominique, whom Demme first met and filmed in 1986. As owner and operator of his nation's oldest and only free radio station, Dominique was frequently at odds with his country's various repressive governments and spent much of the 80s and early 90s in exile in New York, where Demme continued to interview him over the years. Dominique fought tirelessly against his country's overwhelming injustice, oppression, and poverty but it was Dominique's shocking and still-unsolved assassination in April of 2000 that gave Demme the impetus to assemble more than a decade's worth of material into a celebration of this dynamic man and his legacy. (Description from www.theagronomist.com) About the Speaker: Following the film, Nadine Dominique will present us with her thoughts on her father's work and his assassination, and she will answer questions about The Agronomist. Nadine worked at Radio Haiti Inter as program director from 1994 through 1999. Since Jean Dominique's assassination in 2000, she has worked for Fondation Eko Vwa Jean Dominique, an organization created to work toward bringing the assassins to trial and to continue Jean's work. By seeking justice for Jean Dominique, the organization aims to bring about greater social justice for all Haitians. About the Panelists: Carolle Charles has written extensively about gender and politics in contemporary Haiti, women in the Haitian Revolution, and obstacles to the democratization of Haitian society. She is currently a Professor of Sociology at Baruch College. Robert Fatton is the author of Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002.) He is currently a Political Science Professor at the University of Virginia. Percy Hintzen is the author of Problematizing Blackness: Self-Ethnographies by Black Immigrants to the United States, and West Indians in the West: Self Representations in a Migrant Community. He is currently a Professor of African American Studies at University of California at Berkeley. Jean Jonassaint is a French Professor at Duke University. His current research interests include Caribbean literature, history and sociology of literature, postnational literature and transnational writers. Michelle Karshan served as Foreign Press Liaison for Haiti's presidents Rene Preval and Jean-Bertrand Aristide during his first term of office. She served again with President Aristide from 1995 until the recent coup d'etat in early 2004, which forced Aristide's government from office. Jennie M. Smith is the author of When the Hands are Many: Community Organization and Social Change in Rural Haiti. She is currently the Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. About the Hosts: Simon Lewis was born in the U.K., educated there and in South Africa, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He teaches African Literature in the English Department at the College of Charleston. In addition to a book on white South African women writers, he has published articles on a range of South and East African writers. He also edits the literary magazine, Illuminations, and directs the College's program in the Carolina Lowcountry and the Atlantic World (C.L.A.W.). Karen Moldovan works as Education Coordinator at the Communications Museum. She has volunteered in Haiti several times with "Haitian People's Support Project" and "Healing Hands for Haiti." Her most recent trip to Haiti was in December, 2004. Karen also works as the Outreach Coordinator at My Sister's House, Inc. and is pursuing a Master's Degree in Teaching from the Citadel. Add your comment
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