Educators from across South Texas gathered at Texas A&M University-Kingsville last week to learn more about the culture of one of the most dynamic regions of the Western Hemisphere—the Caribbean.

The seminar is part of the “Exploring the Global Caribbean through Literary and Theoretical Texts” program funded by a nearly $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The program—aimed at secondary and university educators— promotes the culture and literature of the Caribbean.

Dr. Susan Roberson, chair of the language and literature department, wrote the proposal for the NEH Humanities Initiatives at Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollments. The grant covers weeklong summer seminars from 2010-2012, group activities throughout the year and a mini-conference in 2012.

About a dozen educators are participating in the program, including high school teachers from the Kingsville Academy, Riviera, Orange Grove, and Miller and Ray High Schools in Corpus Christi; instructors from Del Mar College; and faculty from A&MKingsville’s departments of language and literature, history and communications and theatre arts.

The participants were selected after applying and will receive a stipend for the seminar.

“This seminar will not only enrich us intellectually as people, but it also has the potential to enrich the students at our university and all the students touched by the teachers attending the seminar,” Roberson said.

Participants read and discussed selected works of acclaimed Caribbean writers. Dr. Shona Jackson, a Caribbean literature scholar and assistant professor of English at Texas A&M University, served as the seminar leader.

“The Caribbean is an area with global impact,” Roberson said. “It was settled by various European nations— that’s why we have different languages in the Caribbean— English, French and Spanish. It is a microcosm of how globalization works and how colonization worked back in the 16th century.”

Humanities Initiatives are intended to strengthen and enrich humanities education and scholarship at Institutions with High Hispanic Enrollment.

These grants may be used to enhance the humanities content of existing programs, develop new programs, or lay the foundation for more extensive endeavors in the future. Each project must be organized around a core topic or set of themes.