Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies Spring Lecture
The Austin College Center for Southwestern and Mexican Studies will host Dr. Andrea Easley Morris, Austin College Class of 1995, to present the lecture, “21st-Century Migrant and Tourist Mobilities: Dominican and Cuban Encounters Abroad,” on February 25 in Wright Campus Center, Room 231, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Morris, an associate professor of Spanish in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at Louisiana State University, said, “Caribbean people have been acutely vulnerable to a feeling of not belonging on two fronts, as migrants abroad and as residents of homelands that have been transformed to accommodate leisure travel by mostly North American and European tourists.” She conducted a July 2015 research trip to Havana, Cuba, for her project on post-1990 emigration and return.
In the Austin College presentation, Morris will discuss how contemporary writers from the Dominican Republic and Cuba portray the experiences of immigrants and travelers from the Caribbean in destinations in the United States and Europe. She will demonstrate how the writers critique global inequalities and also envision a path toward human connection across differences as well as a sense of belonging in the context of unwelcoming environments.
For more information about the lecture, contact Wendy Wilson.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with 46 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and more than 100 expert faculty members allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.