Date Thesis Awarded

5-2018

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Advisor

Kara Thompson

Committee Members

Elizabeth Losh

Hermine Pinson

Iyabo Osiapem

Abstract

This project is primarily a collaboration with eleven Haitian and Haitian-American authors on a collection of short Afrofuturist fiction stories. In analyzing and interpreting their works, I focus especially on the figures of zonbi and lougawou. Empathizing with these multifaceted, sometimes-monstrous beings emphasizes the importance of becoming comfortable and familiar with fragmented selves. In addition to the stories themselves, I discuss the writing and genre-defining processes that shaped them. We began with two workshops, one in Miami and Port-au-Prince, kept in touch with each other via groupchat and social media while writing, and peer-edited and reviewed each other’s submissions. A collective, working definition of Afrofuturism within the Haitian context emerged over the course of this months-long engagement. We identified religious phenomena (the Haitian Creole term for it is mistik) and unresolved endings as noteworthy features that appeared across stories in our collection.

Recommended Citation

Edwards-Thro, Sora, ""Istwa Sa A Pa Senp": Body, Land, And Family In Haitian Afrofuturist Fiction" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1200.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1200