Teaching Blog
With this new website section, the Center for Caribbean Studies will explore and narrate student experiences in Trinity courses and with research projects that engage with the Greater Caribbean Region.
In our inaugural post, student research assistant Paola Evangelista (Class of 2026) describes her work as a peer mentor in the First Year Seminar, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, taught by Prof. Delano in fall 2024.
Each fall, as Trinity College opens its doors to welcome a new class of first-year students, Hartford also extends its spaces, resources, and time to those who will navigate it during their professional and personal growth journey. Among the many opportunities Trinity offers during this transitional period is the chance for students to participate in a first-year seminar or gateway program in an area of their interest. This program not only introduces students to fields of knowledge they wish to explore but also provides them with an academic advisor and a mentor. Together, these guides help students walk through the details of institutional requirements, share practical advice on engaging with the community, and highlight the broader connections they might experience.
This year, I had the privilege of working as the peer mentor for the first-year seminar Puerto Rico and the Caribbean: Complexity, Celebration, and Contradiction, taught by Professor Pablo Delano (Studio Arts). This course, in a unique way, allowed students to form meaningful connections with the community that welcomes them. Hartford as a Caribbean city, with a significant number of residents tracing their origins to the Caribbean, holds a history and a present that are deeply intertwined with the region. For students, exploring these connections has been a gateway to understanding their roles and opportunities within our institution and the community.
Professor Pablo Delano and First Year Seminar students visiting Monument to the Puerto Rican Family at The Learning Corridor, Hartford CT.
From exploring Caribbean Hartford landmarks to delving into Caribbean decolonial thought, the journey has been transformative one. Through this process, we have reimagined our perceptions of the Caribbean and its influence. We began by asking fundamental questions: What is the Caribbean? Who are the Caribbean people? What is colonialism? and how did it shape the Caribbean? What are the commonalities and differences across the region? How is Puerto Rico unique within the Caribbean context? To ignite our reflections, we turned to Aurora Levins Morales’ poem, Child of the Americas. Her work offered a shared yet deeply personal perspective as a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew. In her words, we encountered the multifaceted identities and histories of the Caribbean:
“I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return. I am not Taína. Taíno is in me, but there is no way back. I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there.”
This poem challenges the paradisiacal, homogeneous concept of the Caribbean, giving us a glance at a region marked by contradictions and unique nuances. We had the honor of enriching the layers of our learning, not only through the texts we studied but also firsthand with individuals passionate about Caribbean studies, people of Caribbean origin, and many other experts on the issues surrounding Caribbean identity, starting with our CCS Co-director Professor Dario Euraque (History and International Studies) who delivered a masterclass on “500+ Years of Caribbean History in an Afternoon,” introducing us to the concept of the Greater Caribbean. This perspective challenged our geographic understanding of the Caribbean beyond its islands, encompassing continental territories and places shaped by the labor and culture of Caribbean peoples, such as New Orleans. To grasp these dynamics, we revisited the Haitian Revolution, exploring Haiti’s role as the first free Black republic and its significance today, particularly within the U.S.
To complement the historical perspective we were exploring, Professor Ibrahim Shikaki (Economics) led us through an economic analysis of the Caribbean, with a focus on Jamaica. We examined the documentary Life and Debt, which critiques the impact of institutions like the IMF and World Bank on Jamaica’s economy. This provoked deep discussions about systemic inequities, the enduring legacy of colonial power structures, and the violent conditions imposed on economies striving for autonomy. We questioned the foundations of our economic system and its harmful effects on regions like Trinidad, where debt has been used to fuel industries such as textiles and food production. When reading the reflections of the students I noticed their critiques of the practices of these institutions in the region, they were questioning how, even within the legal framework, forms of injustice and oppression persist when economic resources are lent to developing economies after their liberation. Together, we debated how these practices are mirrored by various models of oppression, all rooted in colonial systems of political and economic control. We recognized this as a reflection of numerous similar histories that continue to unfold today across different regions of the world.
Through this experience, I am now able to recognize that Caribbean labor is caught in a cycle of power imbalances, exacerbated by international intervention, particularly from the land in which we reside. Elena Rosario, a Puerto Rican PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, born and raised in Hartford, shared with us her research on the U.S.A. recruitment campaigns of Puerto Rican farm labor for Connecticut’s tobacco fields in the 1950s. Her research presented us the promises and challenges faced by thousands of workers –whose contributions built the economy of the country– while also reflecting the broader migration narratives tied to Puerto Rico and the U.S. I found inspiring how Rosario’s goal is to keep this information accessible to our education, encouraging us to critically reexamine the facts that have often been lost or overlooked, those that gave us a one-dimensional view of the Caribbean’s place in our society.
Elena Rosario Phd Candidate and First Year seminar students observing local artists’ murals (Tao LaBossiere, Camacho, Corey Pane, Samantha Jenkins, Che’ LaMora, Dwight Teal, Jr., Jackie Allen-Doucot and Joy Monroe) Titled “Welcome Home,” at Scott’s Jamaican Bakery in Hartford’s North End.
The effort to present diverse narratives is not isolated or exclusive of research or history. With insights from our guest speaker, Professor Aidali Aponte-Aviles (Language and Culture Studies), we interpreted how art plays a role in resistance, for this we analyzed the poetry of the Nuyorican Movement, such as The Puerto Rican Obituary by Pedro Pietri and Lower East Side Poem by Miguel Piñero. We compared these works with the cartoonish depiction of Puerto Rican characters in West Side Story. We realized how art from within offers portrayals that are fuller and more human, contrasting sharply with the one-dimensional characters we often encounter in mainstream media. Thankfully, these expressions have not stopped in our contemporary world, and we continue to encounter works that critically reimagine the depiction of life the Caribbean and its diaspora. One example of this type of expression is the film Doubles –whose filmmaker Ian Harnarine we also had the honor to meet– which provides a powerful emotional impact and allows us to understand life Trinidad and its migrants, from a compelling perspective. Through this film, we’ve come to understand aspects of Caribbean multiculturalism that are often overlooked, such as the influence of the Indian legacy in countries like Trinidad. It is truly an honor to witness such a deep commitment to representing the many layers that shape Caribbean individuals wherever they may be. To understand their history and life from their human perspective is a work that only art can provide, as we, the learners, are privileged to experience.
We have developed a thorough understanding of the origins and meanings of artistic practices in criticizing colonialism, such as Trinidad’s Carnival. This exploration prompted me to reflect on the purpose and symbolism of the artistic practices found in the festivals of my own country of origin, El Salvador, which is also navigating its path toward colonial emancipation. It also led me to question my views on religion, particularly how lines of thought and religious practices can be intertwined and inclusive, in contrast to historical religious practices that sought to exclude what was perceived as foreign. Thanks to our guest, Professor Timothy Landry (Anthropology and Religious Studies), and his discussion of Caribbean religions—particularly Haitian Vodou—we were able to learn how many religious practices cultivated and resisted by enslaved Africans persisted. We learned about the strategies that enslaved people to maintain their spirituality despite efforts to strip them of their identity. One of the most revindicating ways of understanding spirituality is the way that some West African religions and practices will adopt deities from different religions, or their shape, either to protect themselves or to camouflage their faith. This exploration was reinforced in conversation with the Haitian art collection in our institution, observing the use of religious and ideological symbols, such as the la siren, and learning how this knowledge has been preserved and appreciated by the Haitian people throughout history. While these works were once labeled as “primitive art,” we now recognize them as sophisticated reflections of a legacy of ideas and, most importantly, resistance.
Caribbean peoples have used various artistic forms to create legacies and assert resistance against oppressive forces. The complexity of their history doesn’t mean that artistic expressions cannot be humorous or celebratory—they carry deeper meanings and reflect the stories the Caribbean has been telling for centuries through satire and mockery. This was evident in our study of Carnival in Trinidad, which we explored through a photographic book created in collaboration with our instructors Professor Delano and Professor Riggio (English). Carnival in Trinidad takes place on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, marking the Catholic period of feasting before fasting. Symbols like the devil have significant historical context, as religion was once used to justify enslavement. But during Carnival, the blue devils are and run around, people either give them money or get dirty, representing a challenge to religious ideas, with a liberatory practice that has only continued to grow through the years.
In this way satire can serve as an act of liberation and disruption, sending a powerful message to those who seek to strip expression and identity from resistant peoples. This was evident in our conversation with Professor Delano about his exhibition at the Venice Biennale, “The Museum of the Old Colony.” This conceptual art installation critiques Puerto Rico’s ongoing colonial status by using archival photographs and films taken by U.S. photographers, exposing the colonial oppression imposed by the U.S. through images and captions. Through wit and humor, the installation invites a closer examination of Puerto Rico’s current struggles, such as poverty, unemployment, and the control of its economy through the PROMESA fiscal board.
The tradition of challenging power through available resources as a disruptive act transcends many other cultural traditions, which we often overlook as simple celebrations or ornaments. This is evident in the Limbo dance, which we learned originated as a representation of the suffocating and cramped conditions aboard transatlantic slave ships. Another example we learned of art as a form of resistance was the creation of the steel drum, made from discarded oil drums in response to a ban on musical drums in the plantations where enslaved people worked. These instruments later influenced calypso, soca, and steel pan rhythms. Thanks to workshops with Professor Galm (Music) and Nelson Bello, we learned about the evolution of Caribbean percussion, particularly the steel drum. It’s remarkable how enslaved people used discarded materials to create complex instruments. Mr. Bello also shared the evolution of percussion traditions like bomba, which continues to evolve with more women drummers taking the lead. We also had the opportunity to learn about the Puerto Rican national instrument, the cuatro, and the process of instrument creation from Ana Cumpiano, apprentice to master luthier William Cumpiano. This process of reviving traditional instruments and making them more accessible has become a powerful tool for cultural expression and preservation.
The first-year seminar allowed us to challenge our understanding of Caribbean realities and how the region continues to enrich the world with its examples of invention, resistance, art, and science. To frame this experience, we had a discussion with Professor Maurice Wade (Philosophy), who shared his perspective on how the Caribbean is not only a territorial reality but also an expansion of philosophy, concepts of race, nations, and power. We learned about thinkers like Fanon, Rodney, and Lloyd, who critiqued colonialism and shared thoughts on Pan-Africanism and Black power. Their ideas shaped the Caribbean and African liberation movements, inspiring future generations of thinkers. In that conversation we also met with Christina Bleyer, College Librarian and Director of the Watkinson Library, we discussed spoke about the importance of post-custodial archiving and how it helps preserve history while maintaining control over the material by the original community. This conversation built upon our extended understanding of the Caribbean and its implications on race and colonialism.
First year seminar’s students engaging with the The Edith A. Graham Collection of Haitian Art at Trinity College.
Reflecting on this entire journey, I consider it an invaluable experience for everyone involved. It was incredible to connect with so many sources of knowledge and to understand the Caribbean in all its complexity, marking the beginning of a journey to critically understand the multicultural country we inhabit. This was a rewarding experience not only as a mentor but also as a student. Throughout this course, we learned something new every day. I hope that those of us who had the opportunity to open our eyes and minds through this experience now approach the world—and especially our communities—with more empathy, curiosity, and a constructivist approach to the people who continue to shape our society, as well as those who did so in the past.
