New England book launch of "Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake"

 “A phenomenal contribution to Haitian history, politics [and] culture…both before and after the earthquake.”– Edwidge Danticat

JOIN US for the New England book launch of "Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since the Earthquake"
edited by Mark Schuller & Pablo Morales

Friday, February 3, 6:00-8:30 pm
Starr Auditorium, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
79 JFK St. (2nd Floor of Belfer Building)
Cambridge MA

Book website & summary: http://www.kpbooks.com/Books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=294998

This new book captures diverse perspectives from Haiti scholars, activists, and journalists. Some of the contributors will join our Panel Discussion and Q & A are the following:

• Manolia Charlotin, Editor & Business Manager, Boston Haitian Reporter
• Brian Concannon, Director of the Institute of Justice & Democracy in Haiti
• Valerie Kaussen, Associate Professor, University of Missouri
• Jane Regan, Multimedia Journalist currently teaching journalism in Haiti
• Mark Schuller, Assistant Professor, York College (CUNY)
• Patrick Sylvain, Haitian Language & Culture Instructor, Brown University

FREE Admission | RSVP: HGSEforHaiti@gmail.com

Book Signing and Light Refreshments to Follow

Hosted by: Boston Haitian Reporter | Haiti Caucus at HKS | HGSE for Haiti Sponsored by: Kennedy School Student Government

"Tectonic Shifts: Haiti Since The Earthquake" - A Summary:
The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti’s capital on January 12, 2010 will be remembered as one of the world’s deadliest disasters. The earthquake was a tragedy that gripped the nation—and the world. But as a disaster it also magnified the social ills that have beset this island nation that sits squarely in the United States’ diplomatic and geopolitical shadow. The quake exposed centuries of underdevelopment, misguided economic policies, and foreign aid interventions that have contributed to rampant inequality and social exclusion in Haiti.

Tectonic Shifts offers a diverse on-the-ground set of perspectives about Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake and the aftermath that left more than 1.5 million individuals homeless. Following a critical analysis of Haiti’s heightened vulnerability as a result of centuries of foreign policy and most recently neoliberal economic policies, this book addresses a range of contemporary realities, foreign impositions, and political changes that occurred during the relief and reconstruction periods.

Analysis of these realities offers tools for engaged, principled reflection and action. Essays by scholars, journalists, activists, and Haitians still on the island and those in the Diaspora highlight the many struggles that the Haitian people face today, providing lessons not only for those impacted and involved in relief, but for people engaged in struggles for justice and transformation in other parts of the world.