Reimagining the Caribbean

Valérie K. Orlando is professor of French and Francophone literatures in the Department of French and Italian at the University of Maryland.Sandra Messinger Cypess is professor of Latin American literatures in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Maryland.

[T]his edited volume offers a comparative analysis of the multifaceted nature of the Caribbean. Though many studies have appeared on the region's literature and culture, this work is unique in its emphasis on teaching the Caribbean to North American students. The contributors, Orlando and Cypess included, examine the problems scholars often face when teaching courses on the Caribbean, and they call for a cross-disciplinary approach, despite the innumerable challenges this entails. They maintain that teaching of the Caribbean must move beyond specific languages, and beyond literary studies, to include other modes of cultural production. Contributors analyze literary works, and other forms of cultural production, from diverse perspectives, including border theory, ecocriticism, and translation studies. The volume stresses the importance of the region’s history and its representation in education and the visual arts as well as literature. This volume's pedagogical methodology makes it quite valuable for those involved with teaching courses on the Caribbean. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction: “Situating the Caribbean: Texts and Contexts,” Valérie Orlando Chapter 1: “Approaching the Caribbean from a Latin American Perspective,” Sandra Cypess Chapter 2: “Teaching the Caribbean across Borders: the Web Approach,” Véronique MaisierChapter 3: “Islands without Borders: Teaching the Caribbean across Languages and Cultures,” Anne François and Cécile Accilien Chapter 4: “Islands without Borders: Analyzing the Caribbean through the Vehicle of Translation Studies,” Krista SlagleChapter 5: “Caribbean Drama: A Stage for Cross-Cultural Poetics,” Camille StevensChapter 6: “Plantation Portraits: Teaching the Hispanic Caribbean through the Arts,” Lizabeth Paravisini-GebertChapter 7: “’A Hispaniola Conspiracy’: Edwidge Danticat and Junot Díaz Performing (in) the Caribbean Public Sphere,” Elizabeth Russ Chapter 8: “Defending Freedom and Human Rights: Teaching Toussaint Louverture and Haiti’s History,” Aude DieudéBibliography of Useful Resources and Texts Glossary of Selected TermsIndex Notes on Contributors