ENGL/ETHN 344D: Caribbean Literature, TR 2-3:15pm, Dr. Luis Othoniel Rosa, ANDR 109 (Guzman Family Classroom)
Modern power (capitalism and empire) begin in the Caribbean. If one is to understand how modern power works, one needs to study the cultures of the Caribbean that have survived the devastation of genocide and slavery. But more importantly, if you, like me, believe that our human species deserves a more just and equal distribution of power than our modern world has to offer, we need to study closely how Caribbean cultures have articulated a post-capitalist and postcolonial world. In this course, we will study precisely that; from the Haitian Revolution to the many contemporary Caribbean insurrections against our world systems, we will focus on how those with nothing but their flow and style can defy the most powerful institutions of humanity. In this class, we will pay particular attention to black spirituality and queer joy in the Caribbean. Yes, we will talk a little bit about popular culture (Bad Bunny, Rihanna, the emergence of Reggae, Salsa, Regueton), and we will also read about the revolutions in Haiti and Cuba that to this day stand as the most radical revolutions against Western empires, but for the most part, we will emphasize how the Caribbean peoples have survived the biggest powers of the world by creating the most sophisticated theories of poetry, music, and philosophy.