Welcome
People of New York City taught by Jennifer Lutton. This semester, students worked to understand the transnational connections between the Caribbean (West Indies and Haiti) and New York City from the early 20th century to the current context, and the mutual influence they have had on each other’s cultural, political, and economic development. We explored theories of transnationalism, mobility, and diaspora to examine the impact of multidirectional flows of Caribbean people, culture, goods, and ideas enlivened by contemporary communication and transportation technologies. In readings, lectures, class discussions, a walking tour of Flatbush, Brooklyn, and original field research students examined the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender on migrants’ experiences in the U.S. and the Caribbean that expand and alter notions of home and identity.
The Flatbush neighborhood has been gentrifying rapidly, as new upscale housing and businesses become established on that side Prospect Park (Prospect Lefferts Garden), extending from Empire Boulevard along the commercial district of Flatbush Avenue to Clarendon Road, in the area of the recently renovated performing arts center, the Kings Theater.
Protest and community organizing from the existing community, which is largely Caribbean and African American, accompany these changes. Students examined these and many more issues that shape Flatbush and other predominantly Caribbean communities throughout New York City. We learned about various transnational strategies migrants use to pursue economic livelihoods and political participation, and to both maintain traditional cultural practices and create new cultural forms in both the U.S. and the Caribbean. Course readings included multidisciplinary approaches to these issues, drawing on anthropology, sociology, geography, history, and literature. Students undertook research on topics relating to Caribbean migration and the way Caribbean people shape and are impacted by life in New York City, drawing on academic scholarship and fieldwork. Throughout the semester students contributed scaffolded assignments to a course website, building a repository of notes, data, papers, sources, and scripts for their research and worked in small groups to curate a multimedia online exhibition that presents what they learned. Group projects explore: political economy; music; gender and identity through art and literature; media in the diaspora; and cultural and ethnic identity; and gentrifying processes in New York City.
