Month: January 2023

Instructions

1. Watch the documentary Harvest of Empire directed by Eduardo Lopez and Peter Getzel based on the book Harvest of Empire by Juan González.
2. Pick one of the countries discussed in the documentary as a case study.
3. In the comment section below. Discuss what are some specific consequences of U.S. political and military actions in this country and how it led to a migration wave? Refer to direct scenes and testimonies.

250 words minimum

*Please, keep the discussion alive. If you noticed that your classmates have repeated many times the same country, pick a different one to extend the conversation. *

Initial Chat with a Partner

Were you born in the US, the Caribbean, or Latin America? Where? Did you migrate to New York? When? From where? Where is your ancestral land? Do you still have contact with it? Do you belong to a diasporic community here in NYC? Where is home for you?

Group Discussion: Debriefing on the Syllabus

What struck your attention? What interested you the most about it? What question(s) do you have?

Poetics of Diaspora

How would you describe Princess Nokia’s audiovisual/lyrical understanding of diaspora? What type of affinities do they express in the video? What type of cultural retention do they practice?

I’m that Black a-Rican bruja straight out from the Yoruba
And my people come from Africa diaspora, Cuba
And you mix that Arawak, that original people
I’m that Black Native American, I vanquish all evil
I’m that Black a-Rican bruja straight out from the Yoruba
And my ancestors Nigerian, my grandmas was brujas
And I come from an island and it’s called Puerto Rico
And it’s one of the smallest but it got the most people

Honoring Yemayá

Exit Question

Beyond grades and the requirement of an institution, what does (Afro) diasporic study implies?