Wednesday Talk: January 24, 2024, 2-4 pm – in-person and on Zoom
- This event has passed.
January 24 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Speaker: Kevin Edmunds, History, U of T
Title: “Haiti, Popular Democracy and the Endless Colonial Intervention”
Abstract: What happens when intervention designed to “help” produces an even greater harm? In the short term, it can be an honest, albeit well intentioned mistake. When that becomes the defining feature of a relationship that spans 219 years, we need to seriously shift the focus of our analysis from assistance to a war of anti-colonial containment. In this lecture, using the latest example of multinational intervention to the nation, Kevin Edmonds will discuss how Haiti remains an inconvenient truth, revealing a clear pattern of Western hypocrisy around freedom, sovereignty, democracy, human rights and development. The way to break this cycle, and genuinely help, is to get out of Haiti. As unthinkable and provocative as this may seem, once we know both the history and nature of our interventions in Haiti, as will be argued, it makes perfect sense.
Bio: Kevin Edmonds received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Toronto, specializing in Caribbean political economy, histories of alternative/illicit development, foreign intervention and the region’s radical political tradition. His publications include “Guns, Gangs and Garrison Communities in the Politics of Jamaica at the Turn of the Century”, “An Illusive Independence: Neocolonial Intervention in the Caribbean” and “Eradicating Opportunity: Global Capitalism and the Future of Cannabis in Caribbean”. His work has been recognized by multiple scholarships, including the Dr. Josiah Deboran and Flora Seedansingh Award, Centre for Critical Development Studies, OGS, IDRC and SSHRC.
The link to register is https://forms.office.com/r/CBbhhNfEjK
The deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
