Undeniably, the world remains plagued by crisis and a host of enduring injustices owed to colonial power and domination. In turn, countless revolutionary thinkers from times past and present have identified modernity as a point source of oppression. Notably, when taking stock of the violent ways in which modernity was and continues to be forged, the Caribbean has been ground zero. That is, “The Crucible of Modernity.” As an intervention that centres the Caribbean, this season of Surviving Society will provide a window into several of the region’s grassroots struggles for land, life, and liberation.
Episode 1: The Crucible of Modernity
On today’s episode we spoke with series co-host Johannah-Rae Reyes, an activist and organiser with an extensive track record of frontline experience across the Caribbean. Johannah is currently a Project and Community Outreach Associate with CAISO, as well as a sign language interpreter working with several CSOs, including the Deaf Empowerment and Advancement Foundation and the Alliance for Justice and Diversity.
Episode 2: Decolonisation and Modernity
On today’s episode we spoke with Deanne Bell, a senior lecturer of psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Deanne has conducted research on social emancipation in Jamaica and is currently focusing on the praxis of “decolonising the human” in modernity.
A guiding question central to Deanne’s work is: “How can we, as humans, become emancipated from colonial constructions of race and class?”
Episode 3: Indigenous Future-making
On today’s episode we spoke with Filiberto Penados, Research Director and Professor of Indigenous and Development Studies at Galen University in Belize, who is also chair of the Julian Cho Society and advisor to the Toledo Alcaldes Association. Filiberto has a long history of activist-scholarship and movement-relevant research with Indigenous communities across Central America and is currently leading several projects on Indigenous future-making.
Episode 4: The New JEWEL Movement
On today’s episode we spoke with Tessa Barry, a researcher from Grenada with a focus on food systems, gender, and agriculture who completed a PhD at the University of the West Indies. Tessa is currently archiving the New JEWEL Movement’s pursuit of self-sufficiency and women’s empowerment, as well as is co-founder of the consultancy firm, JRI, and NGO, One Seed for Change.
Episode 5: Trans and Queer Realities
On today’s episode, we were joined by Rae Alibey. Rae is pursuing a Master’s in Applied Psychology at The University of the West Indies. Alibey has worked on several research projects, namely the Sexual Culture of Justice Lifestories collection. As the Community Caseworker at CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice, Rae joins us to talk about their work and the Wholeness and Justice Programme.
Episode 6: Migration and Belonging
On today’s episode we spoke with Tivia Collins, an Assistant Professor in the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies Department at Wake Forest University. Tivia holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of the West Indies and focuses on black transnational and diasporic feminisms, postcolonial citizenship studies, and Caribbean feminist praxis. Her current research focuses on migrant women’s lived experiences of borders and non/belonging.
Episode 7: Deaf Inclusion and Activism
On today’s episode we were joined by Ian Dhanoolal, who informed us about his activist work related to the experiences and struggles of Deaf communities across the Caribbean. Ian is the current president of the Deaf Empowerment and Advancement Foundation. He was born Deaf in Trinidad and Tobago. He has years of experience in sign language research, and is a trained Deaf Interpreter. We were also joined by Ben Braithwaite, lecturer in Linguistics at the University of the West Indies, Sign Language researcher and supporter of the Deaf community, who provided interpretation.
Episode 8: Garifuna Resistance
On today’s episode we spoke with Kimberly Palmer and Nilfor Flores. Kim is an independent scholar, avid surfer, and freediver from St. Vincent and the Grenadines who works alongside Garifuna grassroots activists and the Garifuna Heritage Foundation, while Nilfor himself is a Garifuna community organiser and activist from Honduras with decades of frontline experience. Unfortunately, our interview with Nilfor about Garifuna resistance, ancestral memory, and cultural survival was lost to connection failure. We subsequently have not been able to reschedule but hope to record another episode with him in the future. As a result, this session will focus on Kim’s doctoral research in environmental studies, which centred on Garifuna struggles against land privatisation and dispossession in Honduras.
Episode 9: The Maya Land Struggle
On today’s episode we spoke with Pablo Mis, who is the program director for the Maya Leaders Alliance and Toledo Alcaldes Association––two Maya organisations led by the traditional leaders of the 39 Maya villages in southern Belize. Pablo joined us to discuss the historic 2015 Caribbean Court of Justice Judgment and Consent Order, which affirmed customary Maya land rights.
Episode 10: Caribbean Food Systems
On today’s episode we spoke with Sarah Bharat, a self-proclaimed soil-to-seed worker in the cacao and chocolate domain who found her roots and mission by being anchored alongside cacao trees and farmers. Sarah focuses on regenerative agricultural systems and works directly with farmers to co-create solutions to field-based and processing challenges through teaching applied science in the real world of cacao.
Production
