The international conference “Rethinking the Mangrove: Second Symposium of Critical Practices in Caribbean Cultural Studies” took place October 15-17 in Mayagüez. Bringing together more than 200 participants to share in a conference of 25 panels with 100+ presenters as well as 2 keynote speeches, the event was a vibrant testimony to Caribbean Cultural Studies that adds international prestige to the UPRM.
Twenty members of our departmental faculty participated in “Rethinking the Mangrove” (the greatest number of participants compared with the participation of faculty from all other UPRM departments). In addition, over a dozen current and former MAEE students also attended the conference activities.
The conference program featured the work of the following English Department faculty members: Ricia Chansky, Jocelyn A. Géliga, Eric Lamore, Cathy Mazak, and Mary Sefranek. In addition, Kevin Carroll, Leonardo Flores, Aixa Rodríguez and Irmaris Rosas partook as panel moderators.
Our department was, thus, honorably and memorably represented in this international and interdisciplinary symposium that sought to inscribe our campus as a reference point in Caribbean Cultural Studies. Our contributions are a vivid testimony of the fact that the English Department at UPRM includes faculty who are actively contributing to the cutting edge of current interdisciplinary debates in areas of research of local and global importance.