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 by Susan G. LichtmanSome professors of literature concentrate on the study of form, cadence, rhythm, and style of written works. But for Carole Boyce Davies, the new director of FIU's African-New World Studies Program, the study of literature is an experience that offers insight into the human condition and the way cultures relate through time. Through a distinguished career that has taken her to Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, Boyce Davies has emerged at the forefront of an international movement to make black women's voices heard. When she was a young girl in her native Trinidad, her mother, a well known local school teacher and her own first teacher, would make her recite poems. She took part in several poetry reading competitions and, at eight years old, won her first prize. "What I got from my mother was very special," said Boyce Davies. "I realize now that by encouraging me to recite poetry, she was giving me the ability to interact with rhythm and things that are beautiful, and to have the confidence, from an early age, to speak publicly and with confidence in front of a group." What began as a childhood interest has become a lifelong pursuit. A prolific writer, Boyce Davies is the author of numerous articles, chapters and five books, including a two-volume work, Moving Beyond Boundaries: International Dimensions of Black Women's Writing. In this latest work, she incorporates short stories and poems by black women from different countries, many of whom write about their struggles, anger, pain, and search for identity. "In literature, one finds a deeper expression of human existence and life as we know it," Boyce Davies asserts. "It's a way for the writer not only to express what it means to be human, but to connect to a particular culture and place in time. I study literature because of its ability to speak to a variety of experiences and bridge social forms." Not unlike other Caribbean people who left their countries in search of better opportunities, Boyce Davies decided to pursue her undergraduate education at the University of Maryland, where her older brother, a librarian, was a member of the faculty. She arrived in the late 1960s, in the midst of the civil rights and antiwar movement. After Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, she noted, there was a move away from more passive forms of protest toward greater student involvement. She recalled one incident in which members of the Universityıs Black Student Union marched to the local bank and, to protest racial discrimination, demanded to withdraw their money.  "The idea of all the students in this small eastern shore town withdrawing all their money from this one bank on the same day created a crisis," she said. "You can imagine what was going on. I was terrified because we didnıt know what would happen. Then the police came with dogs and reinforcements." An English major, Boyce Davies loved studying literature. As a young girl being trained in an English-colonial curriculum, Shakespeare was important. So she felt very privileged when an uncle who had emigrated to London sent her a volume of the bard's works. In her junior year at the University of Maryland she took a course on black literature that "spoke to me in a different kind of way." She went on to pursue a Master of Arts degree in African Studies at Howard University and a Ph.D. in African/Caribbean literature at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria on a Commonwealth scholarship. "During those years, there was a growing recognition of the need to read and study black literature. People began to pay more attention to black writers and, gradually, more creative work began coming out," she said. Boyce Davies joined the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1981 as an assistant professor in the Departments of English and Afro-American and African Studies. Through the years, she was promoted to associate professor and then professor while also holding down administrative appointments as co-director of SUNY-Binghamton's London Program and the SUNY-wide Women's Studies Council. She even served as interim director of the universityıs Women's Studies Program. As her academic career developed, Boyce Davies took advantage of international opportunities as they presented themselves, allowing her to broaden her focus. She was a visiting professor at Northwestern University and in the International Summer School on African, Afro-American and Caribbean Studies at Oxford University in England. She was a Fulbright professor at Universidade De Brasilia in Brazil and has been an invited speaker at seminars, workshops and conferences around the world. "My becoming a professor did not happen by chance or by my will and diligence alone," she once wrote. "Rather, it is the product of generations of strugglers who made sure I had the space and the wherewithal to do my work and to join the now recognizable tradition of black women's critical scholarship. I can be true to my work only if that history is central to it." In addition to black womenıs writing internationally, her current research and teaching interests include understanding the African Diaspora. "Many Africans who arrived in the New World began to 'reimagine' Africa," she explained. "Africa became a kind of mythical homeland, a construct, a place to possibly return to and a place from which a lot of energy, strength and courage came. "Almost all of the programs that address African identities in any kind of international way reference the Diaspora," she continued. "I think going to Africa very early in my life helped me to connect with that. It moved me out of a kind of minority consciousness toward a more global one, one linked to other realities in different parts of the world. In fact, I think the contribution I have made to black women's writing is to broaden the paradigm so that it's international." The founding president of the Women's Caucus of the African Literature Association and vice-chair of the Association of Caribbean Women Writers and Scholars, Boyce Davies is active in numerous professional associations, including the Modern Language Association, the African Literature Association, African Studies Association, Caribbean Studies Association, College Language Association, and National Women's Studies Association, among others.  She has received many accolades for her work, but she's especially proud of the awards she's received for teaching, including most recently the Carole Boyce Davies Award for Academic Excellence and Organizational Achievement created by the SUNY-Binghamton Black Student Union in her honor. She also received the State University of New York Chancellor's and University Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.With a blend of warmth and enthusiasm all her own, Boyce Davies has garnered many admirers since arriving at FIU this past summer. She was attracted to her new position because of the potential for growth, having been told the African-New World Studies Program was in its beginning stages. She also was excited about Miami's location as a possible center of African Diaspora research. "When she arrived in Miami, she really sought us out. She presented herself to let us know she wanted to connect with the community," said Dorothy Fields, educational specialist in the Office of Multicultural Programs, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the founder and archivist of the Black Archives, History, and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. "She has brought a new focus and depth to FIUıs African-New World Studies Program primarily because of the well known people she has brought to participate in the program. Boyce Davies doesnıt select individuals solely for their popularity; she chooses speakers who will provide a focus for the students and some depth into the black experience. The community is quite excited about her being here and the work sheıs doing." Clearly, Boyce Davies is equally excited about the potential of the African-New World Studies Program. One her achievements so far has been to identify all FIU faculty who teach subjects that relate to African American, African, Caribbean and Afro-Latin American studies. Among the priorities she set for her first year leading the program were: While she loves the challenge of building the program, she hopes to occasionally join her faculty colleagues back in the classroom. "I'm a teacher's teacher," she mused. "I can't do without being in a classroom." "I've been very happy with the career decisions and choices Iıve made," Boyce Davies asserts. "I've traveled quite a bit. You have to enjoy each experience and integrate it into your overall life experience. I always encourage students to take time to take in the rest of the world if they have the opportunity to do so. Just go for it." |
| | Editor Todd Ellenberg Creative Director Terry Witherell Art Director Bill Stahl Writers Todd Ellenberg, Susan G. Lichtman, Michael Malone, Marisel Othon, Alexandra Pecharich Photographers Gloria OıConnell, Bill Stahl, Michael Upright, George Valcarce President Modesto A. Maidique Vice President, University Relations Steve Sauls Director of Publications Terry Witherell FIU Magazine is published twice a year by the Florida International University Division of University Relations. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Distributed free of charge to alumni, friends, faculty and staff of the University. Postmaster and others, please send change of address information to FIU Magazine, Office of Publications, PC 230, Miami, Florida 33199. Copyright ©1998, Florida International University Equal Opportunity/Equal Access Employer and Institution. Qualified individuals with disabilities as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act who need special accommodations for any FIU-sponsored event can request assistance by calling the number listed in association with the function. The request must be made five working days before the scheduled starting time. TDD, via FRS 1-800-955-8771. |