Rasanblaj Fanm: Stories of Haitian Womanhood, Past, Present and Future
This conference will take place between 10-12 July 2024 at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, United Kingdom, and invites opportunities to (re)assemble narratives, theorisations, performances, mobilisations and representations of Haitian womanhood, past, present and future.
Haitian women are regarded as the poto mitan (central pillar) of Haitian society. As caregivers, warriors, healers, artisans, traders, cultivators, manbos, storytellers, companions and agitators, they have been vital agents in shaping the fortunes of Haiti’s revolutionary anticolonial encounters and its quest for sovereignty and legitimation as an independent state. However, this term of veneration conceals diverse forms of political, social and discursive exclusion that women in Haiti and across the dyaspora confront in the present, and the myriad forms of silence and neglect to which they have been subjected in the historical record.
The little that we know of the women whose courage, ferocity, resilience and generosity paved a course for independence, postcolonial statehood and the universal and permanent abolition of slavery in 1804 is often shrouded in mythology, which, as Colin Dayan has highlighted, “not only erases these women but forestalls our turning to [their] real lives.” Moreover, these legendary “sheroes” of Haiti’s past have often been exploited for the sake of political opportunity, symbolically deployed in the service of nationalist sleights of hand which obscure the precarity, insecurity, exploitation and vulnerability of Haitian women in the present. Piecing together the scattered fragments produced by the violence and ruptures of the colonialist archive and the continuing violence, neglect and co-optation of the dominant political oligarchy necessitates a form of rasanblaj, or (re)assembly, a practice advocated by Gina Athena Ulysse which “demands that we consider and confront the limited scope of segregated frameworks to explore what remains excluded in this landscape that is scorched yet full of life, riddled with inequities and dangerous and haunting memories.” Through rasanblaj, multiple modalities and disciplinary perspectives offer pathways of intersection.
Registration
Registration is now open. Please register at the earliest opportunity using the following link.
Delegates attending from Haiti, whether in person or remotely via Zoom, are eligible for a fee waiver and should select ‘Haitian delegate’ from the options shown. Delegates who have been notified that they are entitled to a fee waiver should also select this option.
Conference Accommodation
35 rooms have been secured for delegates at the Legacy Preston International hotel from 9-13 July at a preferential rate of £74.50 per night single occupancy (£82.50 per night double occupancy). The Legacy is a 10-minute walk from Preston railway station and a 7-10 minute walk to the several conference locations across the UCLan Preston campus. Rooms will be offered to guests on a first come, first serve basis, and all rooms must be reserved by no later than 10 May 2024, so please book your room at the earliest opportunity to avoid disappointment.
To reserve a room at the preferential rate, you will need to telephone the hotel directly on +44 (0)1772 255600 (if calling from outside of the UK, please omit the zero when dialling). Delegates will need to quote the group reference number 63535.
While the hotel has a limited number of on-site car parking spaces, we encourage guests to use public transportation wherever possible.
Preston is also served by a Premier Inn and a number of independent bed and breakfasts. Guests may also prefer to stay in neighbouring Lancaster, which is approximately 20 minutes by train from Preston.
Travel
By Plane
If you are travelling to the conference from overseas, we highly recommend that you fly into Manchester Airport as this is the closest airport to UCLan’s Preston campus (55 minutes by train; trains approximately every 20 minutes). Alternatively, if you are flying into one of London’s airports, it is possible to take the train from London Euston (2-3 hours journey time with trains every hour), but this can be a very expensive option if booking on the day (advance fares are much cheeper but it may be difficult to determine which service to connect with). It is usually easier and cheaper to arrange a short layover in London and book a connecting flight to Manchester.
By Train
Preston train station is a 5 to 10-minute walk away from campus. Preston is an inter-change station, mainly served by Avanti West Coast, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express services. There are direct trains to Blackpool, Lancaster, Blackburn, Burnley, Liverpool, and Manchester. There are also direct trains to London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. It is ideally situated for those travelling from the North and the South (approximately 2.5-3 hours from both London and Edinburgh).
By Car
From the North or West Coast, leave the M6 at junction 32 (M55) and take Exit 1 (A6) to Preston/Garstang. Follow the A6 to Preston and proceed through five major sets of traffic lights. Immediately after the fifth set, take the right-hand lane and bear right at the next set into Moor Lane, following the signs to Liverpool. You'll see signs for the University on this route.
From the South or East, motorways M6, M61 or M65. Leave the M6 at Junction 29 or M61 at Junction 9 and join the M65 towards Preston, then leave the M65 at its end (Junction 1). At the motorway terminal roundabout take the second exit. Follow the A6 to Preston, you'll come to a set of traffic lights with a large retail centre to the left. Go straight on at this set of traffic lights, and at the next set. You'll need to move into the middle lane for the next set of traffic lights to go straight on, follow Liverpool and Southport. Continue straight through the next set of traffic lights. Move to the right-hand lane and turn right at the next traffic lights, signposted for Blackpool and the University.
We hope to minimise our carbon footprint and encourage those travelling locally to use the most sustainable travel options available to them (train, bus, cycling and walking). We will have access to a limited number of visitor parking permits, so please get in touch with the conference organisers at the earliest opportunity if you would like to secure one for the course of your visit. Priority will be given to those with access needs.
Conference Programme
Wednesday 10 July
Registration | Creative Showcase | Welcome Reception
Thursday 11 July
Keynote | Panel Discussions | Film Screening | Conference Dinner
Friday 12 July
Keynote | Panel Discussions | Close
Full conference programme coming soon.