Caribbean Literature Lecture | Wednesday, October 26th @ 11:00 a.m.

Caribbean Literature Lecture | Wednesday, October 26th @ 11:00 a.m.

Caribbean Literature Lecture | Wednesday, October 26th @ 11:00 a.m.

Caribbean Literature Lecture | Wednesday, October 26th @ 11:00 a.m.

The English Program invites you to a virtual lecture about Caribbean literature and culture on Wednesday, October 26th  from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Our guest presenter is Kela Nnarka Francis, Assistant Professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Her presentation is about Caribbean author George Lamming and his depiction of the Carnival as well as the African masking process in his novels. This presentation would be a great opportunity for UDC students and faculty to learn about Caribbean history, performance arts, music, cultural rituals, literature, and writing. Please encourage student participation.

Kela Nnarka Francis is an assistant professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. She earned her PhD in Caribbean Literature from Howard University in 2012 and continues to research topics in Caribbean literature, culture, and society. She is particularly interested in the secular rituals in the Caribbean and the wider African diaspora. Some of her publications, available at https://u-tt.academia.edu/KelaFrancis, include: The African Masking Process (2015), “Beyond Genre: Black Elements in Radiohead’s ‘Bloom’ or Black Music/White Music, What’s the Difference?” (2017), “The Spirituality of Carnival: Using Yoruba Cosmology to Read The Dragon Can’t Dance” (2015), “From Old World Gods to New World Ritual: Kamau Brathwaite’s Islands.” (2014), and “Approaching Literature from an ‘African World View’: A Reading of Masks and Masquerades in Purple Hibiscus” (2013). Currently, she is working on a monograph on the Ritual of Carnival: The Litany of a National Ritual. Her other projects include an essay on the influence of the Black Power Movement on calypso–“TTBAM: The Music of the Black Power Movement in Trinidad and Tobago”—and an upcoming article on Winston Bailey, the Mighty Shadow—“Yoruba concept of Cool and the Oxymoronic Philosophy of Dreadness.”

Date & Time: Wednesday, October 26, 2022  | 11:00 am to 12:00 pm EST

Zoom Link: https://udc-edu.zoom.us/j/87201384870?pwd=SmR2dlhtVHNrYW5nSU0zbG9KZ2l4UT09

For more information, please contact Dr. Ada Vilageliu-Diaz (ada.vilageliudiaz1@udc.edu)