Contact: Larry Estrada, (360) 650-3016 or Larry.Estrada@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM – A series of talks and film screenings scheduled this fall at Western Washington University will highlight life, culture and history in the Caribbean.

The “Inter-American/Caribbean Forums” mark the first time WWU has held such a series of events focusing on the Caribbean, said Larry Estrada, director of American Cultural Studies and associate professor of Comparative Ethnic and Cultural Studies at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies and a member of the committee organizing the forums.

While the Caribbean may seem far away from the Pacific Northwest, the region deserves a closer look, given the growing number of U.S. immigrants with Caribbean roots and the islands’ heritage of racial and cultural fusion that is increasingly being reflected in the U.S. as well.

“A lot of what happened in the Caribbean in the 16^th and 17^th centuries continues to have a great bearing on our own colonial pattern and evolution as a society,” Estrada said, noting that colonization by France, England and Spain and the legacy of the African slave trade continue to shape the culture and politics in the islands and beyond. “To really understand ourselves, we need to understand how that mixture of cultures and people that took place in the Caribbean also took place in the rest of the two hemispheres.”

Speakers will include Ernesto Sagás, associate professor of Ethnic Studies at Colorado State University, who will speak about globalization in the Dominican Republic. And Michele Wucker, executive director of the World Policy Institute, will speak about how the international community can best help Haiti.

The idea for the forum grew out of a need to publicize and prepare for WWU’s study-abroad course in the Caribbean in winter 2010. Estrada is taking students to the Dominican Republic for a 12-credit class that will include Spanish-language instruction, a service learning program, guest lectures and programs examining life and culture in the region. Previously, Estrada often had taken students to study in the Mexican cities of Morelia and Oaxaca. But the growing drug-related violence and political instability in those regions has made such study trips too risky, for now, he said.

Students’ interest in the Caribbean has exceeded expectations, Estrada said, and the trip to the Dominican Republic now has a waiting list.

Here is what’s planned for the “Inter-American/Caribbean Forums,” sponsored by American Cultural Studies, Fairhaven College’s World Issues Forum and International Programs and Exchanges. All events listed below are free and open to the public.

Oct. 7

Globalization and Migration in the Hispanic Caribbean: The Making of a Transnational Society in the Dominican Republic

Fairhaven College Auditorium, noon to 1:15 p.m.

Presenter: Ernesto Sagás, associate professor of ethnic studies, Colorado State University.

• An examination of the impact of globalization and migration on the modern Hispanic Caribbean, particularly the Dominican Republic.
• Also part of the World Issues Forum

Study and Travel within the Dominican Republic

Fairhaven College Auditorium, 7 p.m.

Presenter: Tanja Hölzer, director of Instituto Intercultural del Caribe

• A discussion of WWU’s study trip to the Caribbean planned for winter 2010, as well as other study opportunities in the Dominican Republic.

Oct. 8

Film screening: “The Price of Sugar”

Fairhaven College Auditorium, 7 p.m.

• A documentary highlighting the plight of sugar plantation workers in the Dominican Republic.

Oct. 12

Recent Initiatives in the Caribbean, WWU Faculty Panel Presentation

Communications Facility Room 25, 7 p.m.

Presenters:

• Shurla Thibou, instructor, Women Studies: “Intra-Caribbean Migrations: Cultural Influences in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
• Rosanne Kanhai, professor, Women Studies: “The Pain and Poetry of Caribbean Hybridity: V.S. Naipaul’s ‘A Way in the World.’ ”
• Larry Estrada, associate professor, Fairhaven College: “Implications for Haitian Statelessness and Identity within the Dominican Republic.”

Oct. 13

Film Screening: “Aristide and the Endless Revolution”

Fairhaven College Auditorium, 7 p.m.

• A documentary examining political turmoil in Haiti.

Oct. 14

Haiti in the World: Rethinking the Role of the International Community

Fairhaven College Auditorium, noon to 1:15 p.m.

Presenter: Michele Wucker, executive director, World Policy Institute.

• Haiti desperately needs the world’s help, particularly after decades of coups, violence, corruption and last year’s devastating storms. How can the international community do better to help?
• Also part of the World Issues Forum

International Connections/Collaboration, the World Policy Institute and WWU

College Hall 131, 4 p.m.

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