By: HaitiAnalysis New York City- From June 6 to June 8, 2008, the Global Studies Association (GSA) of North America held its annual conference at Pace University in New York City. In attendance were over a hundred academics focused on issues surrounding globalization and the nation-state. The well-known globalization theorists, Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, and Immanuel Wallerstein of Yale University, provided keynote talks on the first day of the conference. On the second day, in one conference panel, University of California Santa Barbara alum Mark Schuller and Renée Bergan showcased clips of their new film ‘Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy’. With beautiful footage and numerous interviews the film delved into the socio-economic roots and economic hardships of Haitian women. On Sunday, the third day of the conference, Schuller gave a talk delving into his dissertation research, describing a ‘disaster capitalism’ that has swept into Haiti and other countries following natural disasters and political upheaval. He observed that following the 2004 ouster of Haiti’s elected constitutional authorities an unelected interim regime worked with international donors to put in place a program of privatization and heightened neo-liberalism, erasing gains made over the prior decade. He described this as part of the disaster capitalism as discussed by the author Naomi Klein. The post-coup privatization and forced budget adjustments ...
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By: HaitiAnalysis New York City- From June 6 to June 8, 2008, the Global Studies Association (GSA) of North America held its annual conference at Pace University in New York City. In attendance were over a hundred academics focused on issues surrounding globalization and the nation-state. The well-known globalization theorists, Saskia Sassen, Columbia University, and Immanuel Wallerstein of Yale University, provided keynote talks on the first day of the conference. On the second day, in one conference panel, University of California Santa Barbara alum Mark Schuller and Renée Bergan showcased clips of their new film ‘Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy’. With beautiful footage and numerous interviews the film delved into the socio-economic roots and economic hardships of Haitian women. On Sunday, the third day of the conference, Schuller gave a talk delving into his dissertation research, describing a ‘disaster capitalism’ that has swept into Haiti and other countries following natural disasters and political upheaval. He observed that following the 2004 ouster of Haiti’s elected constitutional authorities an unelected interim regime worked with international donors to put in place a program of privatization and heightened neo-liberalism, erasing gains made over the prior decade. He described this as part of the disaster capitalism as discussed by the author Naomi Klein. The post-coup privatization and forced budget adjustments ...