Lecture Series Brings Caribbean to Buffalo

When most people hear “Caribbean” they think clear, blue water and Johnny Depp in a pirate costume. The Caribbean History and Culture Lecture Series, featuring four speakers throughout the 2011–2012 academic year, aims to educate the Buffalo community on the Caribbean’s culturally rich past.

“The idea for the series has been brewing in my mind for a while,” said Bridget M. Chesterton, assistant professor of history and social studies education, who organized the lecture series. “After discussing the idea with students, I realized there was a lot of interest. We also hope the high-quality research to be presented will interest faculty members.” The series will explore the diversity of the history and culture of the region, with speakers discussing the islands of Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Gillian McGillivray, assistant professor of history at York University, will speak Friday, September 23, at 3:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West. McGillivray, a specialist in Latin American history, will present “Blazing Cane: Sugar Communities and the Rise and Fall of Populism in Cuba 1898-1959.”

On Friday, October 7, Anne Macpherson, associate professor of history at SUNY Brockport, will discuss female textile workers in Puerto Rico.

During the spring semester, Reena Goldthree, instructor in African and African American Studies at Dartmouth, will speak about Jamaican soldiers during World War I. Yvie Fabella, lecturer in history at Penn University,  will discuss pre-Revolutionary fashion in Haiti.

The lecture series is sponsored by the History and Social Studies Education Department, Modern and Classical Languages Department, the School of Natural and Social Sciences, and Phi Alpha Theta, the history honors society.