Watch: “Civilizing” Haiti: Representation, and its Discontents

Watch video of an April 7, 2010, Thinking Out of the Lunchbox discussion with Colin Dayan, professor of English, Robert Penn Warren Professor in Humanities; Jemima Pierre, visiting fellow, Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities; and Jane Landers, associate professor of history.

How do representations of Haiti figure and disfigure the culture and history of the country in order to serve political ends? This panel looks at Haiti’s colonial and revolutionary history in order to determine the origins of the country’s poverty, as well as draw attention to the fact that Haiti’s present-day reality is not just a product of revolution, but also of political negotiation.

Vanderbilt University partners with the Nashville Public Library for the Thinking Out of the (Lunch) Box series. A series of lunchtime talks with a philosophical flavor.

Contact: lunchbox@vanderbilt.edu

Explore Story Topics