[Scholar Series - Ep. #42] "The Haiti Reader: History, Culture, Politics." A Conversation w/ Dr. Nadève Ménard

A wide ranging discussion with one of my favorite scholars, Dr. Nadève Ménard. [A sprinkle of Kreyol; the rest in English. ] We cover The Haiti Reader and a separate essay (post-2010 earthquake) she wrote to her daughter, "My Dearest Dear Ana".

While Haiti established the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere and was the first black country to gain independence from European colonizers, its history is not well known in the Anglophone world. As co-editor, The Haiti Reader is an introduction to Haiti's dynamic history and culture from the viewpoint of Haitians from all walks of life.  

The Reader includes dozens of selections—most of which appear here in English for the first time. She emphasized that the selections are representative of Haiti's scholarly, literary, religious, visual, musical, and political cultures. What you'll find in this reader: poems, novels, and political tracts to essays, legislation, songs, and folk tales.  

Spanning the centuries between precontact indigenous Haiti and the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the Reader covers widely known episodes in Haiti's history, such as the U.S. military occupation and the Duvalier dictatorship, as well as overlooked periods such as the decades immediately following Haiti's “second independence” in 1934. Whether examining issues of political upheaval, the environment, or modernization, The Haiti Reader provides an unparalleled look at Haiti's history, culture, and politics.