Haitian Studies Association

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Haitian Studies in Dialogue – A Pre-Conference Symposium

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Haitian Studies in Dialogue:

Emerging Scholars Bridging Dyasporas in France, the United States, and Beyond

A Pre-Conference Symposium

Presented by the Haitian Studies Association and the Haiti-DR Section of the Latin American Studies Association 

Paris, France

May 25, 2026

 

The Haitian Studies Association (HSA) and the Haiti-DR Section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) are pleased to invite proposals from PhD students, early career researchers, and advanced (senior) scholars to participate in a one-day symposium to be held at the Paris Marriott Rive Gauche Hotel (14th arrondissement) on May 25, 2026 from 0900 until 1700.

​​The study of Haiti, like the country itself, is caught between colonial and neo-colonial currents. For nearly four decades the Haitian Studies Association, based in the United States academy, and its scholars have played key roles in defining Haitian Studies. U.S. regional hegemony has drawn Haitian migrants to its shores, increasing the number of people interested in the study of Haiti. This growth in scholarship focused on Haiti and Haitian diasporic communities is sustained and advanced by the formation of the Haitian Studies Association, the Haitian Studies Institute at Brooklyn College (New York), and the Journal of Haitian Studies. These institutions were born from activism and political organizing, but they also exist in relation to the historical legacies of Cold War-era area studies (1940s-1990s), and with the development of Black/Africana Studies departments from the 1960s onward. Haitian Studies in the United States, then, is a product of specific historical developments, local and state funding opportunities, and community-based socio-political mobilization, but it is also vital in this era of global crises. The United States’s continuing intervention in Haiti as well as its inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers require ongoing response from experts to provide Haiti-informed perspectives.

Haitian Studies is a discipline in the United States academy, but, as a field, it exists beyond the United States as well. Historically, France served as the center of Haitian education and intellectual production for the 19th and 20th centuries and remains a vital hub for members of the diaspora. Because of U.S. American global reach, Haitian American production has dominated the landscape across the last half a century. The HSA has historically opened its doors to scholars based in France welcoming their membership and inviting them to meetings on the western shores of the Atlantic. In the spirit of decolonizing the academy we seek to transcend imperial boundaries by holding a meeting of Haitian scholars in France. We do so in order to expand the boundaries of our U.S.-centric scholarship, enlarge our academic lakou and engage in the practice of strengthening dyaspora connections. The question is not merely what Haitian Studies looks like outside the United States or how the discipline translates from the U.S. elsewhere. We ask, instead: what if we treat Haitian Studies as a field developed in dialogue in which its animating inquiries, axiomatic assumptions, and critical methodologies were forged in full acknowledgement of Haiti’s and Haitians’ diasporic conditions?

Brent Hayes Edwards reminds us that the work of forging diaspora necessitates attending to the differences of time and space, overcoming the divides of empire, and transcending the limits of language through a practice of décalage.  With this call we intend to decenter HSA from its rootedness in the U.S. American academy and articulate its diasporic sensibilities with those “artificially separated” by the cleaves of empire. Following Edwards, we call for a dialogue that addresses and eclipses the fractures, tears, and tensions between Haitian Studies here and there, we ask: what might we achieve in that dialogue? What might we learn? Can Haitian Studies serve a purpose as a discipline of articulation through difference?

We accept proposals from scholars working on any topic that touches on Haiti and Haitian populations globally in any discipline – social and natural sciences, humanities, creative and expressive arts. We especially welcome applications from early career scholars and graduate students, particularly those who have had papers accepted at other HSA conferences but who were unable to attend due to visa or problems with funding. Papers and applications can be submitted in the language in which the applicant finds most comfortable presenting. Only complete applications received by March 20, 2026 will be considered.

For consideration, please upload the following:

  1. One-Page Paper Proposal, pdf or doc format:
    • Title
    • An abstract of no more than 500 words – double-spaced
  2. Two-page Curriculum Vitae, pdf or doc format:
    • Include Institution, PhD status, academic rank, last degree
    • Publications, including dissertation, manuscripts under review
    • Grants, Research Funding
    • Presentations Given–either papers or posters
    • Current contact information (email, telephone/Whatsapp)
  3. One-paragraph bio (250 words), pdf or doc format

Please note the following:

  1. Accepted panelists must register for the symposium by April 30, 2026
  2. General registration for attendees who are not HSA members:
    • Emerging Scholars, $ US 50
    • General Registration, $ US 70
    • Current 2026 HSA members, registration fee already included with membership
    • All registration fees include access to the Journal of Haitian Studies for one year
  3. The symposium is supported by HSA, the Haiti-DR Section of LASA, and Pomona College. We are unable to cover the transportation or housing costs of any panelist or audience member. A light breakfast and substantial lunch with beverages and refreshments will be provided during the event.
  4. You do not need to register for LASA to participate in the HSA pre-conference. If you decide to attend LASA’s annual congress, you may register online in advance, https://lasaweb.org/en/lasa2026/registration/dual-model, or register in person at the conference venue for a daily pass.
  5. This is an in-person event; virtual participation is not available.
  6. The symposium will include the circulation of papers in the weeks before our meeting. If papers are not submitted by the deadline, the panelist will be removed.
  7. During the symposium, each panelist will have fifteen minutes to present a synopsis of the written paper, emphasizing its key ideas.

 

 

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