Let’s talk Carnival

The symposium is a collaborative effort of the Cultural Studies Section of the Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies (UWI), St Augustine and the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts.

Dr Suzanne Burke, one of the event organisers, said the objective of the symposium is to bring together various Carnival stakeholders including practitioners, policy-makers, researchers and entrepreneurs to examine and discuss the importance of Carnival to national. She said the symposium will serve as a “vehicle” to enhance the voice of the academic community in global discourses on Trinidad Carnival.

The symposium opens with a keynote lecture and discussion on March 2, at the auditorium of Government Campus Plaza, Richmond Street in Port-of-Spain.

It will begin at 6 pm and on that day, features Dr Keith Nurse speaking on “Bacchanalia and the Political Economy of Governance in the TT Carnival.” Dr Nurse is a Senior Fellow at the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES ) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chair at The University.

An all-day symposium takes place on March 3, at the Daaga Hall Auditorium at the St Augustine campus.

Panel discussions will embrace topics such as Carnival, Politics and Identity; Gender Performativity and Sexuality in Carnival; Pedagogical Approaches to Carnival Arts Performance and Carnival and Memory.