Left of Black S2:E19 | A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica with Laurent Dubois and Deborah Thomas

Left of Black S2:E19 | February 13, 2012

A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica with Laurent Dubois and Deborah Thomas

Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined in-studio by Laurent Dubois, the Marcello Lotti Professor of Romance Studies and History at Duke University   A co-director of the Haiti Lab at the Franklin Humanities Institute,  Dubois discusses his new book Haiti: The Aftershocks of History (Metropolitan Books).  Dubois gives historical context to the longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Haiti.  Also the author of Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France, Dubois also talks about how he uses athletics as a gateway into political and cultural engagement. 

Later, Neal is joined via Skype© by University of Pennsylvania professor of anthropology Deborah Thomas.   The author of Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship and Transnational Jamaica and co-director and co-producer of the film Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens, Thomas discusses common misconceptions and stereotypes against Jamaican people.  Thomas dives into the history of the Rastafarian Movement and their oppression.  Lastly, Thomas talks about her film, and how her background as a dancer inspires her scholarship.

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Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.

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Episodes of Left of Black are also available for free download in HD @ iTunes U

A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica on the February 13th 'Left of Black'

A History of Haiti and the Legacy of Violence in Jamaica on the February 13^thLeft of Black

Host and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal is joined in-studio by Laurent Dubois, the Marcello Lotti Professor of Romance Studies and History at Duke University   A co-director of the Haiti Lab at the Franklin Humanities Institute,  Dubois discusses his new book Haiti: The Aftershocks of History (Metropolitan Books).  Dubois gives historical context to the longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Haiti.  Also the author of Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France, Dubois also talks about how he uses athletics as a gateway into political and cultural engagement. 

Later, Neal is joined via Skype© by University of Pennsylvania professor of anthropology Deborah Thomas.   The author of Exceptional Violence: Embodied Citizenship and Transnational Jamaica and co-director and co-producer of the film Bad Friday: Rastafari After Coral Gardens, Thomas discusses common misconceptions and stereotypes against Jamaican people.  Thomas dives into the history of the Rastafarian Movement and their oppression.  Lastly, Thomas talks about her film, and how her background as a dancer inspires her scholarship.

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Left of Black airs at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Mondays on the Ustream channel: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/left-of-black. Viewers are invited to participate in a Twitter conversation with Neal and featured guests while the show airs using hash tags #LeftofBlack or #dukelive. 

Left of Blackis recorded and produced at the John Hope Franklin Center of International and Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University.

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Follow Left of Black on Twitter: @LeftofBlack

Follow Mark Anthony Neal on Twitter: @NewBlackMan

Follow Laurent Dubois on Twitter: @SoccerPolitics

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Trailer: 'Bad Friday': Rastafari After Coral Gardens

A documentary film directed by Deborah A. Thomas and John L. Jackson, Jr.

Producers: Deborah A. Thomas, John L. Jackson, Jr., Junior "Gabu" Wedderburn, and Junior "Ista J" Manning

Musical Director: Junior "Gabu" Wedderburn

SYNOPSIS

For many around the world, Jamaica conjures up images of pristine beach vacations with a pulsating reggae soundtrack. The country, however, also has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world, and the population is actively grappling with legacies of Western imperialism, racial slavery, and political nationalism – the historical foundations of contemporary violence in Jamaica and throughout the Americas. 

BAD FRIDAY focuses on a community of Rastafarians in western Jamaica who annually commemorate the 1963 Coral Gardens "incident," a moment just after independence when the Jamaican government rounded up, jailed and tortured hundreds of Rastafarians. It chronicles the history of violence in Jamaica through the eyes of its most iconic community, and shows how people use their recollections of past traumas to imagine new possibilities for a collective future.

Atelier@Duke: Representing Global Blackness

February 25, 2011: Panelists at the Atelier@Duke symposium discuss "Representing Global Blackness," the second of five panels at the Atelier@Duke, an event marking the 15th anniversary of the John Hope Franklin Research Center at Duke University Libraries.

Panelists include Ian Baucom (Duke), Farah Jasmine Griffin (Columbia), Charles Piot (Duke), Deborah A. Thomas (Penn), and moderator Lee Baker (Duke).