Buoyed by a recent $856,000 grant from the Department of Education, the Center for Latin American Studies and interested students and professors are looking to expand courses about Caribbean languages and culture over the next few years.
The Title VI grant, which the CLAS received over the summer, will also be used to improve existing programs or initiate a number of new ones, including lecture and film series, supplementary educational activities and outreach programs.
Beginning in Fall 2007, Haitian Creole language classes will be offered for the first time, according to James Green, associate professor of history. Green said the University will be one of only five other institutions in the country to offer the language.
Before applying for the grant money, Green administered a survey to 919 students in the fall of 2005 to gauge interest in Caribbean studies. The findings indicated strong interest in expanding offerings in the field. For example, 83 percent of respondents indicated they would consider taking a class pertaining to the Caribbean, and 29 percent said they would consider taking a Haitian Creole language class.
The findings encouraged Green to pursue available funding. Other students who have been working to expand Brown's Caribbean studies offerings also cited the survey as evidence that enhancing these offerings would cater to on-campus interest in the field.
Orville Turnquest '07, who helped Green administer the survey, said he believes "Brown students are eager to learn more about the Caribbean - its issues, history, politics."
Green said the University also can take advantage of current faculty who are knowledgeable about the region. He added that there are several faculty members, housed in departments like Africana studies and American civilization, who already have a strong foundation in Caribbean languages and culture.
"We identified 20 faculty, including (President) Ruth Simmons, who have direct interest in or are working on the Caribbean," Green said.
In an e-mail to The Herald, Green wrote that the Department of Education's Title VI Grant was developed in 1959 "to improve international education and science to respond to the communist threat in the Cold War."
Today, the grant money is used in part to promote the study of foreign languages and international countries. Green said he realized the University might qualify for this money when he became director of the CLAS in July of 2005.
"I thought Brown's program was strong enough to compete nationally," Green said.
Only 18 institutions around the country receive this grant money. Over the next eight years, Green said he hopes to transform the University into the leading institution in the Northeast for Caribbean studies.
To help bridge Brown's connections to local Caribbean communities, three student outreach coordinators were appointed to begin work this fall - one each for the Haitian and Dominican communities and another for Caribbean businesses and media outlets in Providence. In addition, one full-time staff member at the CLAS has been appointed to coordinate and oversee all student outreach activities.
Green said he hopes the outreach programs "will break down the gaps between Brown and the outside community."
Turnquest, who said Brown is surrounded by a large Latin-American and Caribbean population, believes more proactive interaction with these communities could benefit students and professors.
"Academia should get out of its Ivy towers and approach the community," he said.
Esther Dorzin '07 is the Haitian community outreach coordinator. Dorzin has been working with the Haitian community in Rhode Island since her sophomore year and said she is excited to participate in the University's new outreach efforts. One of her main goals is to develop a mentorship program that links Brown students with local Haitian students. Dorzin also plans to organize a formal event in the spring to celebrate Haitian culture that will feature music, food and guest speakers.
Dorzin said her work with the Haitian community "shapes my Brown experience."
Lincoln Restler '06.5 said he is excited about the Title VI grant. "It is filling a niche that I don't think other academic institutions around the United States have taken up," he said.
Several students said they hope Caribbean classes and community outreach activities will begin to expose and dispel myths about Caribbean culture.
"People think of Bob Marley and Jamaica," said Restler, who added he hopes the new courses and programming foster a more comprehensive understanding of the area.
"The initiative is about broadening our vision of the region," he said.
