Ecotones 5, "The Caribbean: Vulnerability and Resilience" Conf.

Ecotones 5, "The Caribbean: Vulnerability and Resilience" Conference Highlights, June 21-22

Global Conference Provides an Interdisciplinary Study of the Wider Caribbean as a Space of Cultural, Historical, Geographic, and Linguistic Diversity Through a Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities Framework

(Purchase, N.Y.: July 1, 2019) Ecotones 5, “The Caribbean: Vulnerability and Resilience” was held June 21-22, 2019 at Manhattanville College. The conference was the fifth in a cycle of Ecotones conferences held around the world and convened by Judith Misrahi-Barak of the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 (UPV3) and the research group EMMA (Etudes montpelliéraines du monde anglophone) at UPV3, France, Thomas Lacroix of the Maison française d’Oxford and the research group MIGRINTER (Migrations internationales, espaces et sociétés) at the Université de Poitiers, France, and Maggi Morehouse of Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina.

Manhattanville College was invited to host this conference at its Purchase, NY campus on June 21-22, 2019. Since 2008, Manhattanville College has had an exchange program with the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 through which Manhattanville students spend a semester abroad in Montpellier and students from Montpellier spend a semester or a year at Manhattanville. This conference was another step in cementing that relationship. Professors Nada Halloway (English), Binita Mehta (French), and Greg Swedberg (History/Latin American Studies, Director, Center for Global and International Studies) were the Manhattanville College co-organizers and hosts of the conference. Interim Provost and V.P. for Academic Affairs at Manhattanville College, Louise Feroe, made the opening remarks on Friday, June 21, 2019.

While the term “ecotones” comes from biology and is used to designate “a transitional area between two ecosystems, for example between land and sea,” it was broadened to include the social sciences and the humanities. The Ecotones 5 conference included “an interdisciplinary study of the wider Caribbean as a space of cultural, historical, geographic, and linguistic diversity, a meeting place of peoples from different corners of the world.” Over a day and a half, conference attendees heard from anthropologists, biologists, geographers, linguists, scholars of literature, culture, and religion, environmental sociologists, and from those with cross-disciplinary research interests.

The conference participants hailed from near and far. They included scholars from Westchester and the Bronx - Purchase College, The College of New Rochelle, and Manhattan College - from colleges and universities around the US - California, Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia – and from overseas universities in France, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the UK.

Two of the conference participants were Manhattanville College biology professors Nancy Todd and Wendy McFarlane who presented their research on the effects of hurricane Irma on the plant and animal life on the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean. Rick Mitchell, a Manhattanville College alumnus, class of 1981, a published dramatist and professor of English at California State University, Northridge, also participated in the conference.

Peggy Levitt, Luella LaMer Slaner Professor of Latin American Studies and Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College was invited to give the keynote address on Friday, June 21, 2019. Her talk, "Decentering and Re-centering: Toward More Inclusive Ways of Producing, Disseminating, and Acting Upon Knowledge,” not only challenged participants to rethink the primacy of the nation-state as a focal point for understanding the forces and impacts of globalization, it provided a road-map by which knowledge may be produced outside the European and US-led paradigm through the example of Lebanon.

On Saturday, June 22, 2019, invited artist, Manthia Diawara, Professor of Comparative Literature at New York University and Cinema Studies at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts answered questions after a screening of his 2010 documentary, “One World in Relation,” on the Martinican writer and thinker, Edouard Glissant. Professor Diawara shared his personal memories of Edouard Glissant as well as his insights into his writings. The subject matter of Diawara's documentary dealt with contemporary issues of migrations and borders and the role that small nations in the Caribbean archipelago can play in the creation of a new world order. Mohamed Mbodj, Professor of History and African Studies at Manhattanville College, moderated the discussion.

Conference attendees included Manhattanville College students and faculty, colleagues from neighboring colleges, and visitors from the New York metropolitan area. Eleven of the conference participants lived in a residence hall on campus. This further enhanced the sense of community that was built around the conference.

"The intellectual community that emerged during the Ecotones 5 conference as well as the interdisciplinary and multilingual nature of the participants made for an enriching and memorable experience for all. Events such as this foster regional, national, and international relationships that will serve the College well in the future," said Greg Swedberg, Director, Center for Global and International Studies at Manhattanville College.

Manhattanville College thanks Ecotones conveners Judith Misrahi-Barak, Thomas Lacroix, and Maggi Morehouse for inviting it to host the conference, and thanks all the Manhattanville administration, faculty, and staff who helped to make this conference a success.

About Manhattanville College

Manhattanville College is a small, private liberal arts institution dedicated to academic excellence, purposeful education, and social justice. Located 30 miles from New York City on a 100-acre suburban campus in the heart of bustling Westchester County, Manhattanville enables easy access to robust entertainment offerings, educational resources, and business opportunities for its primarily residential and diverse student body. The College serves approximately 1,800 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students from more than 48 countries and 37 states. Founded in 1841, the College offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate areas of study in the arts and sciences, education, business, and creative writing, as well as continuing and executive education programs. Graduate students can choose from over 75 graduate and certificate programs. Extracurricular offerings include more than 45 clubs and 20 NCAA Division III teams. To learn more, visit www.manhattanville.edu.