Caribbean Studies Reading Group (Nov. 15th)

The Caribbean Studies Reading Group invites Stanford students to join us!

Discussions of our Fall Quarter text will be on October 18 and November 15.

Save the dates for our fall discussion series:

Tuesday, October 18, 10-11:30am Pacific
To read: DOC, introduction by R. D.G. Kelley (“A Poetics of Anticolonialism”, pages 7-29) and first half of the text (pages 29-53)

Tuesday, November 15, 10-11:30am Pacific
To read: DOC, pages 54-78 (and just skim the interview of Césaire by René Depestre, which starts on page 81)

Both meetings will be held in a hybrid format: via Zoom, but also in person in Pigott Hall (Room 252). We will send out the accompanying poetry excerpts, the Zoom link, and more instructions on what to advance of meetings to those that register.

This fall, we are focusing on the works of Aimé Césaire. We will read Discourse on Colonialism (the first half in October and the second half in November), paired with select poetry readings by Césaire that will help us appreciate the diversity of his intellectual output and his relevance to Caribbean Studies scholars of all disciplines. We are grateful for the cosponsorship of the Black Studies Collective and the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages for helping to make this programming possible.

Please note that we are reading the 2000 edition of Discourse on Colonialism (originally written by Césaire in 1950), which includes an insightful introduction by Robin D.G. Kelley who contextualizes Césaire in his historical moment and in the tradition of anti-colonial writing in general. This version can be accessed for free via Stanford Libraries here:

https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/12948260  


Caribbean Studies Graduate Coordinators
Matt Randolph (History), Joe Wager (ILAC), and Kengthsagn Louis (Psychology)