Introduction to Caribbean Studies

This course offers an introduction to the exciting interdisciplinary field of Caribbean Studies. Our geographic frame will focus not only on the larger islands of the Greater Antilles (home today to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica), but also the smaller islands of the eastern, northern, and southern Caribbean. Taking our cue from Caribbean societies themselves, this course will emphasize connections across borders and empires, not to mention connections across scholarly fields. Topics vary by semester but will include such themes as indigeneity, creolization, colonialism, slavery and emancipation, revolution, literature, religion, music, tourism, and the environment.