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A Phenomenology of Gede: Thinking with the Dead in Haiti
- Author(s):
- Nathan H. Dize (see profile)
- Date:
- 2020
- Group(s):
- CLCS Caribbean, LLC Francophone, Race and Aesthetics in French and Francophone Culture
- Subject(s):
- Haiti, French language--Study and teaching--Foreign speakers, Caribbean literature
- Item Type:
- Syllabus
- Tag(s):
- Haitian Literature, Haitian Vodou, Religion and Culture, French Language Teaching, French foreign language Teaching
- Permanent URL:
- http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/fe3y-5c57
- Abstract:
- In the Haitian religious tradition of Vodou, Gede is the lwa, or spirit, concerned with the beginning of life and the passage into the afterlife, death and regeneration. Gede is often regarded as the spirit of the people in Haiti because he has a direct connection to every living being, everyone may call on Gede for protection. Gede’s appeal also resides in his freedom, his ability to transgress the borders that constrain the living and the dead. This course proposes a study of Haitian literature through the lens of Gede as authors transgress temporal, spatial, and linguistic boundaries to communicate with and through the dead. Taking a case-study approach to Haitian literature and history, you will engage in the study of real and mythical figures of the Haitian past to explore how writers and artists “perform” Gede’s work of communicating with and through the dead. This course aims to provide a longue durée approach to Haitian time (more than 500 years of history) and to expose you to the variety of genres Haitians have used to regenerate the presence of those who have passed.
- Metadata:
- xml
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 3 years ago
- License:
- Attribution
a-phenomenology-of-gede.pdf