Islands in the City: The Politics and Culture of Caribbean New York

Semester and Year	SU 2011
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1645
Section	001
Instructor	Millery Polyné
Days	Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu
Time	1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Notes/Restrictions

Three-week Intensive: May 23-June 10.

Description

New York City possesses the largest population of Caribbean peoples outside of the Caribbean, and this course explores key issues in four boroughs where Caribbean politics are being shaped and identities performed. We will examine Caribbean livelihood in the city—the ways they worship, work and play, their creation and utilization of green and artistic spaces, their access to social services, their political affiliations and mobilization on matters such as immigration, gentrification and domestic worker rights. Our interdisciplinary, critical study of the sacred (e.g. Santería in Brooklyn) and the secular, from educational, political and economic institutions (e.g. hometown associations) to public figures (e.g. Colin Powell)—highlight the politics of the second-generation, migration, race, class, gender-stratified social systems, cultural resistance and appropriation, and nationalist projects. Readings may include: Jesse Huffnung-Garskof’s A Tale of Two Cities: Santo Domingo and New York after 1950 ; Junot Diaz’s Drown ; Elizabeth McAlister’s Rara! Vodou, Power and Performance in Haiti and its Diaspora ; Paule Marshall’s Brown Girl Brownstones ; and Arlene Dàvila's, Barrio Dreams: Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the Neoliberal City .

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)