10/04/11

Story by Anne Christiansen-Bullers, 913-469-8500, ext. 4184

Kiran Jayaram - Haiti Scholar

JCCC scholar will share experiences, research about Haiti

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The experiences of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic will be the focus of a program offered both Nov. 2 and 4 at Johnson County Community College.

Kiran Jayaram, an adjunct instructor of anthropology at JCCC, will present “Capital Changes: Seeing the Similarities and Differences Among Haitian Migrants in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic” from 7-8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Hudson Auditorium of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.

This presentation, presented as part of the JCCC College Scholars program, will deal with new trends in Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic, particularly in the urban area of the country’s capital, Santo Domingo.

A 6:30 p.m. reception in the Shull Atrium of the Regnier Center will precede the event.

He’ll speak again from 11 a.m.-noon Friday, Nov. 4, in Hudson Auditorium.

Both presentations are free, and the public is encouraged to attend.

“While several reports by organizations like Amnesty International drew popular audiences’ attention to the issues of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti piqued the world’s interest in the island,” Jayaram wrote.

After the earthquake, Kiran worked in Haiti for the Earth Institute on the issue of land tenure and on a future Millennium Villages project.

Jayaram received his master’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas and is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University Teachers College. His own research has dealt with identity politics in a Haitian social movement and the impact of capitalism in rural Haiti. Most recently, he has studied the migrants who left Haiti for a perceived better life in the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s eastern neighbor on the island of Hispaniola.

The College Scholars program showcases faculty excellence in research fields that go beyond the classroom to make scholarly contributions within the instructor’s academic discipline. A College Scholars committee chooses applicants based on the topic’s general interest, timeliness and relevance, among other qualifications.

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