Working Groups

As per the CSA Constitution Article VIII, working groups are defined as and must be follow these regulations:

1. Members are encouraged to specify their interest in joining one or more disciplinary work groups, within discrete areas.
2. In order to form a working group, at least fifteen (15) CSA members should sign a request to the council, seeking such status. This request should include specific areas of interests, objectives, and activities to be undertaken.
3. Each working group should elect a coordinator for a two-year term by ballot, show of hands, or voice vote, during the annual conference of the CSA.
   1. The coordinator shall facilitate continuous collaborative research and communication between working group members and contribute to the purposes of CSA, as described in Article II of the Constitution.
   2. The coordinator shall also present annual activity reports to the council.
4. Working groups may only solicit funding from the treasurer, in the support of the group activities, in accordance with the established budget process.
5. Established working groups, which do not meet for two consecutive years, shall automatically be dissolved. For this purpose, a year shall be defined as the period between any two CSA annual conferences.

If you would like to start a working group, please be sure to follow the above guidelines as outlined in the CSA constitution. Further, working groups are welcome and encouraged to sponsor panels and send suggestions to the Conference Program Chairs/Committees for each conference.

CURRENT WORKING GROUPS

Education Working Group

Coordinators:

• Nigel O. M. Brissett nbrissett@clarku.edu
• Tavis Jules tjules@luc.edu

Description

The CSA Education Working Group aims to engage in inquiry on the role of education historically and currently in the areas of social, political, economic and cultural formations of the Caribbean region. Our objective is to create a space where academics, policy makers, and practitioners can discuss their work and experiences in education. Specific areas of interest include but are not limited to: colonialism, post-colonialism and education; education and post-independence development; education, regionalism and CSME; education and social policy; inclusive and special education; education, neo-liberalism and globalization; teacher education, pedagogy and practice; education and migration; education and youth; education for social justice; education and cultural formation; and education and sustainable development.

The Education Working Group also aspires to help shape future CSA conference themes, raise the visibility of the field of education in Caribbean Studies, encourage greater participation of practitioners and policy makers in round table discussions about Caribbean development at future CSA conferences, and serve as a “think tank” for education policy reform in the Caribbean.

Website: https://csaeducationworkgroup.wordpress.com/events/

Environmental Working Group

• Coordinator: Nicholas Watts || nsjwatts@gmail.com

Description

Aims of the Caribbean Studies Association Environment and Sustainability Working Group:

1. to provide a holistic and inclusive programme for the CSA Annual Conference based on proposals submitted, to ensure that cultural, political and scientific aspects of environment and sustainability are organised in a ‘green’ schedule that minimises overlaps,
2. to contextualise the annual conference in sustainability policy by introducing policy-makers at local and regional level as speakers (e.g. from the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism), and arranging a field excursion (by arrangement with CSA Programme Chairs) to a site or sites of particular interest or challenges (such as extractivism, fisheries and marine protected areas, forestry etc.) to engage with environmental protection and sustainable livelihoods issues, to meet the dependent communities, producers (fishers, farmers) and officials.
3. to ensure that key issues are addressed, including sustainable livelihoods, extractivism, indigenous rights, ecofeminism, climate and biodiversity, environmental rights and the exercise of regional voice in international meetings on climate and biodiversity (e.g. by AOSIS at climate and biodiversity COPs),
4. to build the basis for a just transition to a carbon neutral economy by developing an epistemic community of research and scholarship across the region, with due recognition of the need for the international community to meet its financial commitments by the in context of recognition of ‘loss and damage’.

Transnational Hispaniola Working Group

LEADERSHIP

Coordinators:

• Molly Hamm-Rodriguez | mollymhamm@gmail.com
• Espy Baptiste | Espelencia.Baptiste@kzoo.edu

GROUP DESCRIPTION UPDATE:

Description

Transnational Hispaniola seeks to transform dominant paradigms in knowledge and creative production, politics, pedagogy, and practice in and about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. We promote work that recognizes the role of the nation in people’s lives without necessarily giving it incorrect primacy in analysis. Our group includes specialists in social sciences (anthropology/ethnology/sociologie, geography, economics, sociology, political science), the humanities (history, languages, religion), the arts (literature, musicology), and professional trades (education, social work). In addition to incorporating people from these fields, we are also particularly interested in outreach to people in law, health, and STEM fields.

MISSION STATEMENT:
The purpose of the Transnational Hispaniola Working Group (THWG) is:

• To advance an understanding of peoples in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and their diasporas through scholarly research, instruction, artistic production, and practice as a way to address important social issues,
• To establish critical spaces for collaboration across the island and among its scholars,
• To connect scholars, artists, teachers, and practitioners as a way of creating a wider sense of community
• To promote the activities of the TH Working Group and the wider TH community

VISION:

• The THWG will support the growth, advancement and application of scholarly, artistic, and practical knowledge through research, publication, and dissemination and communicate this knowledge to other populations.
• The THWG will operate and promote ethical and respectful values for all people, regardless of race or ethnicity, class, gender, citizenship, language, ability, or religion, while recognizing the need to address historical patterns of marginalization and inequality.
• The THWG will develop resources and provide mentorship so that our members are able to change the world.

WEBSITE: https://transnationalhispaniola.weebly.com

Masculinities Working Group

• Coordinator Contact Info: TBA
• Description: TBA

Sexualities Working Group

• Coordinator: Krystal Ghisyawan | krystal.ghisyawan@gmail.com
• Group Listserv: caribbean-sexualities-csa@googlegroups.com

Description

The Sexualities Working Group was approved at the CSA 2011 conference business meeting in Barbados and started officially at the 2012 conference. This group comprises a network for scholars – established and emerging – whose research focuses on sexualities, broadly defined. The working group was proposed and started by CSA members Natalie Bennett, Jafari Sinclaire Allen, Angelique V. Nixon, and Rosamond S. King. The goals for this Working Group include: building a community of scholars within CSA around a topic of study that has long been marginalized and silenced; fostering connections between our academic activities and the broader activist and social movements to which we are allied; creating a supportive space where people feel their work is respected and encouraged. The long-term goal of such an endeavor is to further institutionalize the study of sexualities within Caribbean Studies, to solidify the links between academic scholars and activists/social movements, as well as help to transform the field of Caribbean Studies altogether.