Creolization is the process in which a mixed people of African, European and indigenous ancestry emerged as a result of colonization.
In the study, researchers examined sites where creolization has emerged, conducting fieldwork in the Republic of Mauritius, off of the eastern coast of Madagascar; the Republic of Cape Verde, off the western coast of Africa; the French Caribbean, which includes Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Les Saintes, and Marie-Galante, and Louisiana.
Cohen’s research is funded by the U.K. foundation, the Leverhulme Trust. There are 11 projects in all. In his project, with Olivia Sheringham, he engages with the concepts of diaspora and creolization through a comparative study of the four different settings.
“Diasporic and creolized identities tend to be conceptualized as ‘opposites,’ the first placing emphasis on the past, the second on the present and future,” he explained. “This study will explore the subtle ways in which the two interact with each other, often in a mutually exclusive pattern, but sometimes in a mutually reinforcing way. The key task will be to elaborate and rework the contingent, historically specific and situational settings in which diaspora or creolization emerge, diverge, or converge; the ‘delicate dance’ between them.”
Cohen and wife Selina worked with Sheila Richmond and Pete Gregory at the Creole Heritage Center, Mary Linn Wernet in the Cammie G. Henry Research Center at NSU’s Watson Library and Susan Dollar, associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, History, and Social Science, who shared their time and information on Creoles in Louisiana.