Beyond the Postcard: Sights from the "Peripheral" Caribbean

From the times of Columbus to our days, when millions of visitors arrive on the islands under the spell of the global tourist industry, imagination has been a defining force behind the representation and the material lives of Caribbean people. Caribbean artists have continuously contested the traps of the distorting mirror. Attempting to define the region from the inside, Caribbean intellectuals have depicted both its heterogeneity and the common trends that bond the societies of the meta-archipelago. This colloquium features insights on Caribbean culture produced from a “peripheral” Caribbean. Focusing on aesthetic expressions from the Continental and Diasporic Caribbean, guest speakers will attest to the complexity and flexibility of regional boundaries. Presentations aim to challenge not only popular fantasies, but also prevailing scholarly perceptions of Caribbean societies.

Featuring guest speakers from Mexico, Colombia and the US, this series of presentations will address topics relevant to faculty and students interested in Latin American and US-Latin@s (from Mayan and Afro Mexican communities to Chican@s), Africana Studies (from Equatoguinean to AfroLatinx authors), Postcolonial Studies, Music and Popular Culture, as well as global literature.

The colloquium will begin on Thursday, March 1 with the lecture “Demonios, patriarcas y vallenatos: El Caribe de García Márquez” (On Demons, Patriarchs, and Folk Music: García Márquez’ Caribbean) and will continue with a day-long program on Friday, March 2. 

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Open to the public.
Free of charge.

For more information, contact Nadia Celis (ncelis@bowdoin.edu).

Sponsored by The Latin American Studies Program, the Crandall Family Fund, the Blythe Bickel Edwards Fund, the Africana Studies Program, and the Department of Romance Languages.