How is the anthropological as a mode of writing itself a literary process? And, what does it mean to think the world, or, our worlds, from our own locality, such as the the city or town in which we live, while also holding present the immense impact that our imaginaries play in our processes of belonging? How do our conceptions of where we ‘come’ from play into how we participate in worlding practices? How might we craft ways of belonging in our everyday, but also in our close readings of these very practices?

Prof. Dr. Francio Guadeloupe, Antropology, University of Amsterdam.  Francio Guadeloupe has been a tenured faculty member in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) since 2013, where he integrates public anthropology with a passion for teaching and conducting ethnographic research. In June 2024, he was appointed Professor by Special Appointment of Public Anthropology of Kingdom Relations at the UvA.

In addition to his academic role, Guadeloupe is a senior research fellow at the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW). He previously served as President of the University of St. Martin (USM) for four years, during which the institution secured international accreditation for its associate degree programs in Hospitality and Business. His leadership also fostered collaboration with the University of the U.S. Virgin Islands, enabling USM to offer internationally accredited joint Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Educational Sciences and Business Administration. His tenure ended following the temporary closure of USM due to Hurricane Irma.

Guadeloupe's research focuses on how popular conceptions of national identity, ethnic diversity, cultural heritage, religious identity, and media representations of truth are shaped by colonial racism and global capitalism. His work spans several regions, including the bi-national island of Sint Maarten & Saint Martin, Curaçao, Aruba, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Brazil, and the Netherlands. He is the author of Chanting Down the New Jerusalem: Calypso, Christianity, and Capitalism in the Caribbean (University of California Press, 2009).

This lecture takes place in the context of the course: Literary Worlds: World Literature and Globalisation, in Literary and Cultural Analysis undergraduate program. The course coordinator is Alessandra Benedicty-Kokken. Any questions may be sent to a.benedicty@uva.nl