Caribbean Studies Seminar Series

CLACS Caribbean Studies Seminar Series actively promotes intellectual engagement and knowledge exchange by providing scholars - including postgraduate students and early career researchers - with the opportunity to present their interdisciplinary, comparative and integrated research on the Caribbean.

Science Paths to Emigrate. Networks of Collaboration Between Cuban Emigrants from Social Sciences and Humanities

Speaker: Yaniedys Arencibia Coloma (University of Manchester) 

One of the most visible expressions of the unfortunate situation in which the Cuban people live is, without a doubt, the current migratory crisis. Recent statistics tell us about hundreds of thousands of Cubans who emigrate irregularly from Nicaragua to try to cross the U.S. border from Mexico and take advantage of protection laws for Cuban emigrants within US territory. These "migratory options" mean that thousands of Cubans tacitly give up years of professional careers to secure a life with economic improvements. However, thousands of other young professionals emigrate to other countries through scholarships and highly qualified professional recruitment programs. Specifically for graduates of careers associated with the social sciences and humanities, job offers are scarce or they are unaware of the degrees achieved on the island. This proposal explores the intellectual and collaboration networks between Cuban emigrants, specifically professionals from the social sciences and humanities who opted for emigration strategies that allowed them to remain within their professional profile. It combines the life history methodology with interviews with five graduates of doctoral training programs on the island who currently work or study in roles associated with their previous experience in Peru, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and Chile. We aim to describe strategies for access to migratory options and their associated procedures (legalization of documents, visa application, etc.), professional experiences before and after leaving the island, family and life experiences, etc. 

Yaneidys Arencibia Coloma has a BA in History of Art and a PhD in Sociology. She has worked at the Universidad de Oriente, in Santiago de Cuba as a Tenured professor and researcher, collaborating with undergraduate and graduate training programs in the humanities and social sciences faculties. She also worked as Director of the Center for Cuban and Caribbean Social Studies at the same university and as coordinator of one of the master’s programs. He has published the results of her research in scientific articles and books. After being identified as a political dissident following the events of 11 July in Cuba, she holds a postdoctoral fellowship to continue her research project at the University of Manchester.

All are welcome to attend this free seminar, which will be held online via Zoom at 16:00 GMT (UK time). You will need to register in advance to receive the online joining link. Please click on the Book Now button at the top of the page to register.