Caribbean Studies at TMU
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Caribbean Studies and Toronto Metropolitan University will enhance your understanding of the region
Learn more about us and what we do at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/caribbeanstudies/about.html
For the last 20+ years, I, Dr. Camille Hernández-Ramdwar, taught Caribbean Studies at TMU, and from 2009 I was the sole full-time tenured faculty representing the discipline. I want to emphasize “discipline” because during my entire time at TMU, and since the appearance of Caribbean Studies at Ryerson in 1995, it has remained a discipline only – not a program, nor a department, nor a unit, nor a school. For 27 years TMU has been content to keep Caribbean Studies in the armpit of Sociology, while other “disciplines” (such as Criminology, Child and Youth Care, Disability Studies, etc.) have all eventually graduated to the status of program or school. Why is that? The only reason I can see for this continual disrespect and denial of the viability and importance of Caribbean Studies is racism. From 2014 when I became the Academic Coordinator of Caribbean Studies, until 2022 and my retirement, I fought repeatedly to ensure Caribbean Studies would become structurally independent and viable. In 2014 a Certificate was established in the Chang School and in 2017 a Minor in the Faculty of Arts. I did not do this alone and there were important allies who ensured that these things came to pass. These achievements did not come easily and were the results of many years and long struggles. With the sudden attention towards anti-Black racism (spurred by the murder of George Floyd in 2020), the impetus at TMU turned to the creation of Black Studies. Unlike the struggle to establish Caribbean Studies many years previous, the administration was generous in support, research, funding, structural integrity, and so on for Black Studies. While I have always emphasized that Black Studies and Caribbean Studies are not synonymous, if it is that both must co-exist in a university then there should be mutual respect for each, and support by the administration and faculty involved for synergy and collaboration. Undoubtedly, the people in positions of decision-making power (neither Caribbean nor Black) did not do that. Caribbean Studies was not included in the planning and ex*****on of Black Studies at TMU – in fact, Caribbean Studies was not even informed of any such plans. Strange, given that in lieu of anything else, Caribbean Studies has been the only discipline at TMU, for 27 years, teaching, discussing, holding events, and drawing attention to anti-Black racism, Black identities, Black cultures, and so on. A final analysis of this is simple: it is a replication of divide-and-rule colonialism in the academy that ensures any overture by marginalized disciplines and faculty is designed to be a zero-sum game and to create dissension. Colonizers knew which members of under-represented communities to hand-pick and use as their tools in this strategy. As Caribbean people say “Monkey know which tree to climb.”
The utter dismissal and disrespect for a “discipline” that I passionately gave my best to for 20+ years was a major reason I decided to retire from TMU effective Dec. 31, 2022. I want to take this opportunity to thank the many, many students who passed through my classrooms over the years and for whom Caribbean Studies was a revelation, a lifesaver, and an inspiration. I also want to thank the many colleagues who were true allies during my time at TMU and who always supported Caribbean Studies, including those who taught CRB courses (always as part-time, precarious faculty) and who were as passionate about Caribbean Studies as I was. You know who you are. For those of you who still see the Caribbean as a frivolous place full of piña coladas and cruise ships, of bikini-clad women wining to the ground and spliff-smoking rent-a-dreads, and who refuse to see it as a place worthy of serious scholarly inquiry and real structural support and institutional respect– you know who you are. And finally, for those of you who feel no compunction in selling out your own to gain massa’s favour - you know who you are too.
*If you are looking for me in 2023, you can find me here: [email protected]. For those of you who enjoy Caribbean literature, my collection of short stories Suite as Sugar releases April 2023https://www.dundurn.com/books_/t22117/a9781459750715-suite-as-sugar. You can also find me at camillehr.com
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Ghana To Formally Apologize For Its Role In Transatlantic Slave Trade | BIN: Black Information Network 'It’s time to say what needs to be said to all African Diaspora and we must have the conversation and resolve our actions and inactions as rulers of our Kingdoms during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade which is deeply regretted,' said Nana Obokese Ampah I.
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Direct from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona.
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https://scoop.upworthy.com/the-dutch-government-plans-to-officially-apologize-for-its-role-in-slavery-by-setting-up-a-fund?fbclid=IwAR1Lhdp1ONdRg5i9n5BuVhiw1e7COeq9eIbydgrotz2ciT_vgz__eHXzrIQ
Is this the start of a trend?
Dutch government to officially apologize for slavery, set up fund to heal 'historical suffering' The Netherlands, one of the last countries to abolish slavery in 1863, wants to establish a fund 'for structural and sustainable financing of recovery measures.'
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Back again, this year live and direct!! Amazing films, amazing events... Check it out!!
CaribbeanTales International Film Festival - Toronto - Sept 7 to 23, 2022 #CTFF2022 - CaribbeanTales International Film Festival based in Toronto includes both live events and on-demand film content.
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Thousands of migrant workers come up year after year from the Caribbean (and elsewhere) to harvest Canadians' fruits, vegetables and to***co. They live in substandard conditions, work long hours, are overcharged at local stores, and endure hazardous conditions on the job. This ruling is long-time coming!
T&T at 60: Toronto to celebrate Independence with Trinbago Fest | Loop Trinidad & Tobago A free two-day Festival in commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence is the newest event to be added to Toronto’s packed calendar of summer activities. Dubbed the “Trinbago Festival”, this celebratory eve
We held a event looking at how the cannabis industry was taken out of the hands of Caribbean people in Canada once it was legalized. This is a way Caribbean people can take that power back.
Cannabis Tourism Is Now A $17 Billion Industry—And It’s Just Taking Off From ma*****na farm tours to “bud and breakfast” hotels, American destinations are discovering that “canna-cations” aren’t just for stoners anymore.
Many of our delicacies and "traditional" dishes come straight from the plantation. Is it time to retire these?
How about we change our national dishes to healthy options that hearken back to the healthier foods our ancestors ate before enslavement and lead the way in revolutionizing our diet?
17 missing, 121 hurt as fire rages in Cuban oil tank farm The fire began during a thunderstorm Friday night.
Canada’s biggest Caribbean festival is an epic show of island pride Where to find island-style parades, dancing, music and street food at Toronto's annual party.
https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-steelpan
Celebrating Steelpan Celebrating Steelpan!
Breffu: a slave, a rebel, a fighter – and a woman almost invisible to history The role of women in conflict is often lost to the archaeological record – but Breffu’s story illustrates how sometimes we catch a glimpse of them
Madras fabric from India has been ubiquitous in the Caribbean for centuries, a staple of "traditional" Caribbean clothing. Ever wonder why? Join this event TODAY!
For all you Caribbean lit buffs! A wonderful series being put on by Bocas Lit Fest!
https://www.bocaslitfest.com/books-that-made-us/podcast/
100 Caribbean Books that made us Podcast • Bocas Lit Fest The NGC Bocas Lit Fest’s 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us podcast series celebrates and explores how iconic Caribbean books have influenced and inspired writers of today. Released in April 2021, the 100 Caribbean Books That Made Us is a list of literary works in all genres — poetry, fiction, and...
Relics that outline the history of St. Vincent and the Grenadines have been returned. What are the relics? Specialized tools once used for crafting!
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ShortURL - URL Shortener ShortURL is a url shortener to reduce a long link. Use our tool to shorten links and then share them, in addition you can monitor traffic statistics.
Sanctions placed on Russia have made oil and gas prices sky rocket. But there may be a way to leverage reserves in islands such as Barbados, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
https://buff.ly/3xHD0Nh
Politician Lisa Hanna is asking the country’s parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past.
How to Take a Caribbean Vacation — While Acknowledging Its Painful Past What do you know about the history of your favorite Caribbean island? Or the previous lives of that luxurious seaside resort? If you confront the region's tragic past, says one travel editor, you'll gain a deeper understanding — and appreciation — of paradise.
There is a big big debt that needs repaying....
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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/world/french-banks-haiti-cic.html
Another hurricane on course for the Caribbean - BBC Weather
"After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma, islands in the Caribbean are braced for yet another major hurricane.
Maria is expected to become a dangerous major hurricane as it nears the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean.
Hurricane warnings have been issued for Guadeloupe, Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat and Martinique."
🙏🙏🙏
http://www.bbc.com/weather/features/41309206
bbc.com After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma, islands in the Caribbean are braced for yet another major hurricane.
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