Colonial Caribbean Currents: A Comparative History of Caribbean Energy Systems

I am conducting a comparative research project that juxtaposes unique histories of Caribbean islands to unpack their respective contemporary struggles with resource management, and how this informs both vulnerabilities and response pathways to climate catastrophe. Previously, I had investigated the history of Puerto Rico, particularly as it relates to colonialism, resource management, and community self-management in the wake of disasters like Hurricane Maria. Last year, I expanded my project to consider the small, Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica—which was similarly devastated by Hurricane Maria-- as a new comparative field site; I spent the year familiarizing myself with the Dominican context by researching their history from the colonial period through Independence and sovereignty to better understand the present sociopolitical context, particularly analyzing their climate adaptation plans. This summer, with the support of the Tinker grant, I was able to experience the Eastern Caribbean by air, water, and land. To start the summer, I traveled to Saint Lucia, where I presented on my preliminary work on Dominica alongside three Berkeley Caribbeanist colleagues for our panel entitled, "Constructing Just Futures: Navigating Climate Adaptation, Infrastructure, and Resource Stewardship in the Caribbean." From there, I took a ferry four hours across the Caribbean Sea to Dominica, where I spent five weeks living with a Dominican host family. As an affiliate of Dominica State College, I learned basic Dominican Kweyol, conducted archival and ethnographic research, learned a new research method called "photogrammetry," as well as built relationships with and learned from academics, professionals in the energy industry, farmers, fishermen, business owners, landholders, service providers, students, vendors, musicians, and elders around the island. Finally, I visited the French island of Guadeloupe, where I was able to learn more about geothermal energy and local ecologies. During my time in Dominica during hurricane season, I learned more about the affective experiences of unreliable resource access, natural disasters, and climate change in a way I never could have learned from afar; I even led an initiative to raise $2,000 USD in 24 hours to sponsor a boatload of relief supplies for the victims of Hurricane Beryl in nearby islands of Carriacou and Canouan. Studying the history and language ahead of time allowed me to build relationships and understanding in my field site in a quicker fashion, and I recommend this for others planning to do field work. I also had to adjust my pace of living and working to adjust both to unique features of island life and unforeseen circumstances, and a good deal of patience and flexibility is recommended for those engaging in research (especially community-engaged research). I will spend my Fall semester analyzing the archival and ethnographic material I collected over the summer, and this analysis will form the core of my Master's thesis. I will also apply to funding for continued dissertation research, and those applications will be enhanced by the knowledge and experience I gained in the field, as well as by the new, more refined, and pertinent research questions with which I came out of the summer.