Creole Languages and Caribbean Identities

Class Videos

This page presents video of the final class session, on the topic “Technology, language and new modes of story telling—a new “Creole” world the world over?” It highlights instruction by Professor DeGraff, substantial student dicussion, and a student presentation on readings “Discourses of Power.” As a bonus, it includes two videos from a guest lecture delivered by Prof. Jean Casimir in the Spring 2022 iteration of the course.

1. Do "Pidgins" exist? Do Creole languages come from Pidgins?

2. How much variation in space and in time through the history of Haitian Creole?

3. On "Kreyolofoni": Why do we still use the label "Creole" to refer to "Creole languages"?

4. Post-colonial discourses of power & identity; the making of socio-economic & cultural hierarchies

5. Language and discourses of power in the making of “authentic” identities in post-colonial societies

6. Language, culture, identity and "authenticity" in post-colonial communities

7. Feedback to students who led class discussion

8. Against Creole Exceptionalism, Part 1: Creole languages are perfectly normal languages

9. Against Creole Exceptionalism, Part 2: Creole formation is normal language change

10. Against Creole Exceptionalism, Part 3: Creole formation is language acquisition plus social factors

11. "Birth certificates" of languages created via migration & population contact—Kreyòl, English…

12. A brief & partial history of anti-Creole myths at the core of imperialism—linguistic & otherwise

Guest lecture (2022): Unmaking and remaking community (part 1)

Guest lecture (2022): Unmaking and remaking community (part 2)