Season 1: #5 - Schuyler Esprit, Create Caribbean

Topics Discussed in this Episode:Schuyler’s journey into her professional career through graduate school in the U.S., her first position at Trinity Washington University, and her move back to Dominica, where she founded Create Caribbean and began working at Dominica State College.Using digital humanities as a way to make connections between higher and secondary education.The Dominica Liberation Movement and her family’s connection to regional anti-colonialist movements in the 1960's and 1970's as an inspiration for founding Create Caribbean.The importance of the THATCamp Caribe, first held in Puerto Rico in 2012.The role of high school students in the foundational and ongoing creative work of Create Caribbean.The significance of students creating accessible spaces where other students they can learn about their history.Schuyler’s process of unlearning the hierarchies and expectations of the traditional culture of the academy.The loneliness and isolation of academic work, especially in the Caribbean.Globalization and the impact of shifts in higher ed in the U.S. on the Caribbean region, including increasing emphasis on the profit motive and a utilitarian view of academic experience.Differences between identity politics in higher ed in the Caribbean and the U.S., including what it’s like to be a black woman in the academy in the U.S. vs. in the Dominica and Antigua.The challenge of administrative work that takes you away from creative and fun work of your own but opens up a space for you to create space for more people.The importance of conferences like The Caribbean Digital for staying inspired and being energized.Schuyler’s driving desire and hope for creating a world where her students will be able to come back home if they want and be able to feel like they can work and make a living and make a life in the Caribbean.Resources Discussed in this Episode:Schuyler EspritCreate Caribbean Research Institute atTHATCamp Caribe 1The Caribbean Digital VIMusic Credits: “Come Right Here” by Tendinite, licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 CC-BY-NC-ND license.