How did Haiti—the enfant terrible of the Americas become the bête noire of the region? This dramatic monologue considers the ways the past occupies the present. Ulysse weaves spokenword with Vodou chants to reflect on childhood memories, social (in)justice, spirituality, and the incessant dehumanization of Haitians. Ultimately, she offers critical musings on geopolitics from the perspective of a Haitian-American woman who is bent on loving Haiti, loving Vodou and herself despite the odds.
Gina Athena Ulysse is an Associate Professor of Anthropology, African-American Studies and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Wesleyan University. A poet/performance/multi-media artist, Ulysse is dedicated to performing spokenword, which she considers an alter(ed) native form of ethnography that is essential to get to the visceral too often absent in structural analyses.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)