Georgia Hemmings, Staff Reporter
OUTSTANDING scholars, writers, artists and cultural experts from around the world are expected to gather on Wednesday, January 9, for the second Conference on Caribbean Culture, scheduled to be held at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
Visitors are expected from the United States of America, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Nigeria, Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica, France, the United Kingdom, Colombia and even Australia for this major international conference.
The conference is the brainchild of professors Barry Chevannes and Joe Pereira, deans in the faculties of Social Sciences (FSS), and Arts and Education (FAE), respectively, and aims at exploring cultural issues relating to the region, as well as honouring Caribbean intellectuals who have made contribution in shaping the direction which the region has taken.
In keeping with this mandate, tribute will be paid to Barbadian-born poet/historian, Kamau Brathwaite, for his outstanding contribution to Caribbean literature and history.
Professor Brathwaite is famous for his Creole society model which has helped to advance an understanding of Caribbean culture.
Member of the organising committee, Professor Verene Shepherd, told The Sunday Gleaner that the first conference was held in 1996 in honour of UWI Professor Rex Nettleford.
"Since then, a culture conference is organised periodically to analyse the development of Caribbean culture and honour an outstanding personalitywho has contributed toculturtal studies," she said.
It is hoped that a decision will be taken this year to determine how often the conference will be convened.
Guest speaker at the opening ceremony, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the undercroft of the Registry Building, will be internationally-renowned Nigerian writer and Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.
Professor Soyinka is a pioneer in African drama written in English, and has produced a vast body of work as a poet, dramatist, theatre director, novelist, political commentator, critic, and theorist of art and culture.
Presentations
The next three days will find participants discussing a wide range of topics during concurrent panel discussions.
"Most of these discussions will be on themes based on the work of Mr. Brathwaite himself," Professor Shepherd told The Sunday Gleaner.
Among the topics to be covered are Masculinity in Caribbean Culture, Creole and Creolisation in the works of Kamau Brathwaite, Caribbean Self-Definition, Rasta, Reggae and Resistance, Caribbean Religion and Culture and Caribbean Artistic Expression.
Issues in Nation Languages will see presentations on language as a political tool, identity and struggle in Jamaican talk; copyright issues, as well as racial and cultural categorisations of languages'.
In addition to presentations by Professors Brathwaite and Soyinka, there will also be plenary presentations by Professors Maureen Warner-Lewis and Hilary Beckles of Mona, Kofi Anyidoho from Ghana, Edward Chamberlin of Canada, and Oyeronke Oyewumi of Nigeria.
"Over 100 papers will be presented, a veritable feast of words." Professor Shepherd said. "And this exercise will also involve scholars from the three Caribbean campuses of the UWI."
In addition to the panel discussions and presentations, the conference will also feature a 'Festival of the Word' entertainment package, under the theme "Word, Soun, Powah (Word, Sound, Power)".
Carroll Edwards, UWI public relations officer, explained that "The nightly festivals will begin at 8 p.m., and will feature appearances by various poets, novelists, and other cultural artistes."
On Wednesday, January 9, there will be readings by Edward Baugh, Kofi Anyidoho, Lorna Goodison, and performance by Mighty Gabby.
Readings by Zee Edgell, Mutabaruka, Mervyn Morris and Cyril Dabnydeen are scheduled for Thursday, January 10, while, on Friday, January 11, there will be readings by Colin Channer, Erna Brodber, Earl Lovelace and Linton Kwesi Johnson.
The final Festival night (Saturday, January 12) will feature performances by Pam Hall, Seretse Small, Dean Fraser, and the Area Youth Foundation.
Other activities include a graduate roundtable discussion on Thursday, January 10 at 1:30 p.m. titled The idioms of youth culture.
On Friday, January 11, the lunchtime activity will be a presentation in words, paintings and photographs by Clinton Hutton, titled Becoming: The creative ethos of the African Diaspora. This will take place at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts.
Several new publications are scheduled to be launched during the conference. Questioning Creole: Creolisation discourses in Caribbean Culture, authored by Verene Shephered and Glen Richards, will be launched by Ian Randle Publishers on Thursday, January 10 at 5:30 p.m in the Social Studies Lecture Theatre. On Saturday, January 12, books by Jamaican writer Velma Pollard and Cuban author Nancy Morejon will be promoted by the Institute of Caribbean Studies.
While the conference is targetted at scholars and tertiary students, it (and the nightly festivals) is also open to the public. Information may be obtained from the conference secretariat at Tel: 970-4441/935-8510 or Web site: www.uwimona.edu.jm/faculty/fae/culture2k.
