Devin Ferri and Finn Schuemann, both rising Juniors from the Core French Caribbean class, presented papers along with Prof. Ramakrishnan at the 44th Caribbean Studies Conference held from June 3-7 in Santa Marta, Colombia. The title of their panel was: Identity Movements in the French Caribbean: Paths to Integrate or Separate.
Here’s what the students had to say about their experience:
“Participating in this conference allowed me to really engage with our course material to understand why it is still important to study history and in what ways it is still shining through in the present. The educational components of this trip alone were incredible. However, being able to actually be in a location of relevance was even more powerful. I was able to meet people who were from the Caribbean and engage with their culture and language in a more intimate manner.” (Devin Ferri ’21)
“Many aspects of the French Caribbean class I took were present in the panels during the conference. For example, we learned about the various different cultures in the Caribbean and how that affects relations between the different people in the Caribbean. I believe that school trips like these are very valuable for students, as they can see what they learned in class for themselves in real life. Thank you for making this trip possible.” (Finn Schuemann ’21)