Berlin: International Conference – Crossroads of the World: Transatlantic Interrelations in the Caribbean

International Conference at the Institute for Latin American Studies, Free
University of Berlin, July 2 and 3, 2012
Organized by: Ingrid Kummels, Claudia Rauhut, Stefan Rinke, Birte Timm

LINK: http://www.lai.fu-berlin.de/aktuelles/veranstaltungen/tagungen/crossroads_conference.html

The Institute for Latin American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin is
pleased to host this interdisciplinary conference with the aim to assess
current trends in anthropology, history, sociology, political science and
other disciplines. We will explore the value of a transatlantic approach
towards the Caribbean, analyze its role in the study of the Americas and
explore future directions for research.

A myriad of different cultures, languages, religions, ideas and practices
influenced and formed the highly globalized Caribbean region and created
its own cultural expressions, which, in return, profoundly reshaped other
parts of the world. However, not all of the multiple interrelations
between the Caribbean, North and South America, Africa, Europe and Asia
have received equal attention or have been viewed from a historical
perspective. Adopting the concept of the “Live Dialogue” (Lorand J.
Matory) the long-term weaving of connections through travel back and forth
over the Atlantic- the conference focuses on transatlantic mobility and on
how it continues to shape daily culture and religious practices, social
movements as well as national and transnational political images. The
multiple transatlantic interrelations are therefore not just viewed as
legacies of the past, but as actively and continuously renewed practices
in colonial and post-colonial contexts.