Shanna Jean-Baptiste

Shanna Jean-Baptiste’s research and teaching include Francophone West African and Caribbean literatures, particularly Haitian literature; identity formation and gender politics; visual art and music; and Afrofuturist aesthetics in the Francophone world. She earned a joint Ph.D. in French and African American Studies from Yale University.   

Publications:

• Jean-Baptiste, Shanna. “Black Women and Their Discontents in the French Context.” Small Axe 27, no. 1 (2023): 143-153.

• Jean-Baptiste, Shanna. “Kanye West Will Not Save Haiti.” Ayibopost, October 5, 2020.

• Jean-Baptiste, Shanna. “Jean Price-Mars and the Haitian Woman of Tomorrow,” Part I&II. In Alaso: A Haitian Feminist Anthology, edited by Nègès Mawon. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 2022.

Media Appearances/Speaking Engagements:

• “Haitian Futurity,” Nyansapo Festival, Paris, France, 2022

• “Women, Flora, and the Archive,” Relighting the Crossroads: Historical and Cultural Encounters between Haitians and African Americans Conference, CUNY Haitian Studies Institute

Previous Organizations:

• Social Science Research Council

• Institute for Research on Women

• The Institute for Critical Caribbean Studies

Accomplishments:

• Featured in the 2023 documentary on the U.S. Occupation of Haiti, The Forgotten Occupation.

My work reassesses the Haitian literary canon by revealing the anti-imperialist resistance present in the works of relatively little-studied Haitian authors from the early twentieth century. It contributes to new conversations about the intersections and echoes of belonging, intimacy, and violence between Haiti, the German Empire, the U.S. South, and the Middle East.

A screening of FREDA a film by Haitian writer-director Gessica Généus. The film follows the life of Freda, a young Haitian woman, who lives in a poor neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Her family makes ends meet thanks to their small street shop in the Haitian capital. Faced with precarious living conditions and the rise of violence in Haiti, each of them wonders whether to stay or leave. Freda wants to believe in the future of her country.

The screening was followed by a discussion between Gessica Généus and Professor Shanna Jean-Baptiste.

https://globalracialjustice.rutgers.edu/event/new-perspectives-haiti-screening-freda