CALL FOR PAPERS
Inaugural Conference of Discourse Power and Resistance (DPR) - Caribbean 2010
 
"MASSA DAY DONE!? Challenges of Decolonizing the Postcolonial Experience"
University of Trinidad and Tobago, Valsayn Campus, Trinidad, 19 & 20 July 2010
 
Hosted by University of Trinidad and Tobago, Valsayn Campus,  Trinidad,  in
Collaboration with The Eric Williams Memorial Collection, The University of
Sheffield, UK;  DPR-UK; DPR- South Africa and The Folk Research Centre, St
Lucia.
 
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Professor Selwyn Carrington, Professor of History, Howard University
 
Abstracts Submission Deadline: 28th May, 2010
 
The Discourse, Power and Resistance community in the Caribbean has emerged out
of the 20 year plus relationship between teachers, teachers unions, higher and
further education institutions, policy makers, administrators and community
workers in the Caribbean and the University of Sheffield. This collaboration
has developed into a series of partnerships and networks committed to
developing a critical mass of professionals who are willing to rethink their
work environments and to develop socially just practice to bring about change.
These collaborations have never been restricted to benign provision of taught
courses but rather have privileged critical reflection about our transnational
experiences and about how teaching, learning and research can embrace a
transformative decolonising agenda. The aim of the DPR community in the
Caribbean is to create opportunities for dialogue, action and research to
confront and re-imagine transnational relationships in light of the historical,
social, cultural and political contexts that have shaped these experiences. We
acknowledge the centrality of Diaspora studies to fulfilling this aim and
recognise the Caribbean as a site of knowledge production.
 
 "Massa Day Done!? Challenges of Decolonizing the Postcolonial Experience" is
the theme of the inaugural DPR- Caribbean conference to be held in Trinidad on
the 19 and 20 July 2010. Simultaneous use of the exclamation and question marks
is deliberate. The intended use is to signal the complexity of issues that the
Caribbean faces in coming to understand itself in light of its experience of
colonialism. The theme is also inspired by a political statement that was made
by Dr Eric Williams, the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago who was a
Caribbean intellectual and politician from Trinidad to declare that political
independence in 1962 marked a new era for the former colony. The theme aims
therefore to stimulate discussion about the challenges of decolonising the
postcolonial experience.
 
We are inviting papers and presentations in a range of formats: papers (single
or joint authorship), posters, symposia and workshops, as well as, exhibited
works and presentations in the visual and performing arts on any of the strand
stated below. Proposals should be submitted in the form of an abstract of
450-500 words.
Proposals should be submitted electronically as a Word attachment to
zena.moore@utt.edu.tt. Submitted proposals will undergo a blind review. Should
you need more information on presentation format, please contact Professor Zena
Moore by email. Feedback to potential participants would be emailed to the
author/s by the 12th June 2010
.
Further information about the conference and registration forms can be accessed
via The University of Trinidad and Tobago's website www.u.tt.  Registration for
the conference will be closed by the 30th June 2010. Completed registration
forms should be sent to Ms. Georgia Le Gendre (georgia.legendre@utt.edu.tt).
 
Strands:
•             Race, Ethnicity and Education- This strand addresses the ways in which race,
ethnicity, and education influence the experiences of teaching and learning and
the development of educational policy. It questions the historical aspects of
race, ethnicity and education and how this history facilitates or inhibits
social integration. It challenges the notion of dualism of ethnic isolation vs.
multiculturalism.
•             Research Methodologies and Ethics- This strand addresses the ways in which
issues of right and wrong are always present in the subject-matter of research
and in the methodology adopted. It raises questions about: who should decide on
research matters; what is the significance of research from the perspective of
the marginalized and what constitutes evidence.
•             Postcolonialism and Diaspora- This strand challenges the ways in which we
understand Diaspora and questions its connections to postcolonialism and
education. It considers the ways in which Diaspora studies can inspire new
theoretical and methodological insights into the experience of postcolonialism
and globalization. It evaluates the usefulness of auto/ethnographic and
auto/biographical accounts in representing voices of Diasporas.
•             Language, Discourse, Power and Identity- This strand creates a forum for
discussion on language use in the classroom.  It examines the use of Creole in
the classroom by teachers and students as well as the inclusion of such
languages in instructional material. In doing so, it also addresses issues such
as teaching for empowerment and leadership,  perpetuation of the status quo,
psychological, ideological, technological, and physical factors in the
educational system that are used to disempower and silence teachers and
students.
•             Community and Academy- This strand encourages dialogue on the relationship
between the community and the academy and on the community's needs that should
affect curriculum design and learning outcomes.  It also allows for discussion
on the integration of community and academia. 
•             Spirituality, Faith, Religion and Emancipation:  This strand creates the space
for a consideration of the contested terrain of faith and spirituality. It
examines the ways in which this struggle can lead us into giving consideration
to the historical and epistemological circumstances and contexts in which they
have occurred, are experienced and have immediate bearing on multicultural
societies today.  Presentations can include the role of faith in a project of
emancipation; the absence of faith; faith and education; and faith and
modern-day consumerism.

• DPR - Open

This strand is for presentations that do not obviously fit any of the above.
This is an important stream: some of the most significant contributions to the
conference will be gathered here. It may well be that, as the list of abstracts
accepted begins to grow, new alignments will emerge and the streams will be
redefined. If you have a presentation you would like to make, please submit it
for this stream.