Event

On Wednesday, February 19, the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) will host the next installment of its Lunchtime Seminar Series. The topic to be discussed will be “Nothing Else Matters”: Men’s Transgressive Selves in the Trinidad Carnival Space, and the session will begin at 12 noon. Leading the discussion will be Dr Sue Ann Barratt, Lecturer and Head of Department, IGDS.

Persons interested in attending can access the Zoom room by clicking here. (Meeting ID 992 5741 7818)

More on this session and the speaker

The masquerade is the epitome of the carnivalesque, a moment to confront power structures that can predetermine and reproduce the expression of self in space and place. In terms of expression of self, attention is directed to the expression of gender as a central part of self. The standpoint of the male masquerader in the contemporary is foregrounded, with no boundaries placed around the type of masquerader, i.e. local or visitor, type of portrayal, mas band chosen, or age, class or expression of masculine market behavi Rather the male masquerader defines self in place through his explanations of his motivations for participation in the masquerade revealing how the group of men, engaged through vox-pop interviews, assert a transgressive self as possible in the space. Their expressed transgression reflects a duelling with Caribbean masculine ideologies, especially reputation and responsibility, at once citing their compliance to ideals of either, and asserting resistance to ideals of either.

Dr. Barratt is Lecturer and Head at the IGDS UWI St. Augustine Campus. She is a scholar of human communication and gendered expression and interaction. She interrogates gender-based violence, especially as it manifests through social discourse. In addition, she explores the nuance and significance of social identities, such as race/ethnicity, for example through her most recent book, “Dougla in the 21st Century: Adding to the Mix”. In general, Dr. Barratt’s research extends to human communication conflict, gender based violence and child sexual abuse, social media use and its implications, mental health management and its implications for learners, gender and climate adaptation/resilience, and Carnival and cultural studies. She is dedicated to building gender responsiveness and gender justice within society.