From a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist to the son of a legendary, South African anti-apartheid activist, a diverse group of scholars, activists and writers from around the world are coming to Rutgers this week for a major conference on Caribbean Studies.
The gathering organized by the Caribbean Philosophical Association (CPA) will explore a broad range of issues connected to the Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora, and the global North-South divide.
The conference, which begins Thursday night and runs through Sunday, reflects the burgeoning interest in the field of Caribbean Studies.
More than 50 panels will explore a range of subjects in education, immigration, human rights, feminism, sexuality, and the arts.
Also appearing at the conference will be Junot Diaz, a Rutgers graduate and author of the Pulitzer-winning novel, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” Diaz will be honored at the event with the Guillén Prize for Philosophical Literature.
Nkosinathi Biko, the son of legendary anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko will be part of a panel discussion paying tribute to the revolutionary writer Frantz Fanon, a Martiniquo-Algerian who wrote “The Wretched of the Earth.”
The conference will take place at the university’s New Brunswick Campus for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday events. Sunday’s programs take place at the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center in Washington Heights, New York City.
The major sponsors are the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic and Public Partnerships in the Arts and the Humanities. For more information visit www.caribbeanphilosophical association.org
