Research Interests:

A graduate of George Washington University, I specialize in 18th Century French social philosophy of the Enlightenment and Black Francophone Literatures and Civilizations. Specifically, my research concentrates on Francophone cultures and African Diasporic cultures and interprets Africa’s encounter with Europe as a socio-racial paradigm which defines and explains the newly emerging cultures of Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean. This thematic has been extensively explored and presented at numerous lectures at scholarly conventions and venues, and published in national and international academic journals.

An accomplished writer and poet, I have authored two collections of poetry: Le Pain de l’exil (1988) and La Gloire de l’Arc-en-ciel, (1998 ); I also collaborated on an anthology of historical essays: 1492: Le Viol du Nouveau Monde, (1996), that studied the racial, social and cultural impacts of the encounter of Europe, Africa and America, and in which I published an essay on the coming of the Haitian revolution of 1804 under the title of “1492, The Haitian Response to Colonization and Slavery” More recently, I collaborated with Edwidge Danticat in the production of The Butterfly’s Way (2001), a thematic anthology of essays by writers from the Haitian Diaspora.Presently I am developing a new course: which aims at introducing UDC students to a broad understanding of three African countries, namely Senegal, Mali and Benin, in terms of these countries’ History, Geography, Politics, Natural resources, Economy, Commerce, Transportation, Health, Literature, and the Arts. Through this course, I hope to engineer interest in Africa and and stimulates interest in a willingness to participate in the African continent’s development by young African-American graduates of UDC

Awards and Honors:

• 2008 Received honorary plaque from Government of Haiti for his scholarly and literary activities and for his works in promoting Haitian culture in the United States.
• 2006 : Certificate of Appreciation from Fondation Espoir for organizing Civic Education Program in Saint Marc, Haiti
• 1996: Nominated C. L. R. James Faculty Scholar (University of the District of Colombia).
• 1995: Received Certificate of Appreciation for participation in “Black Mosaic: Community, Races, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D.C.”, awarded by the Anacostia Museum, Smithsonian Institution
• 1990: Awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of New Orleans by the Mayor of New Orleans
• 1984-1986: Recipient of a Mellon Foundation Grant for post doctoral research.

• 2005 to 2008 -Professor/Chair, Department of Languages and Communication Disorders, University of the District of Columbia.
• 2000 to 2005 -Assistant-Chair Department of Languages and Communication Disorders, University of the District of Columbia.
• 1994-2000 Associate Professor of French, University of the District of Columbia
• 1990 - 1994 Assistant Professor of French, University of the District of Columbia