New certificate program offers interdisciplinary study of exile phenomenon

As part of the Exile Studies Certificate program, poet, fiction writer and scholar Gustavo Pérez Firmat will speak about “The Age of Exile” in a presentation Monday, March 22.

By Sissi Aguila

Elie Wiesel said, “Forgetfulness lies at the root of exile, just as remembrance lies at the root of deliverance.” This statement is the reality of many who live in South Florida, a haven for exiles from across the globe, who vow never to forget their homeland. It also serves as a basis for FIU’s new Exile Studies Certificate program.

“FIU is the ideal place to study the phenomenon of exile,” says English Professor Asher Milbauer, director of the certificate program. “Students from all disciplines –teaching, law, medicine – who have taken exile courses in the past found them to be very beneficial in their everyday interaction with the citizenry of Miami.”

Based in the English Department, the certificate program uses literary texts to examine the exile experience, human differences and commonalities. In addition, the 18-credit program draws from courses currently offered throughout the university in literary studies, religious studies, political science, international relations, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, modern languages, film studies, visual arts, performing arts and linguistics.

As part of the Exile Studies Certificate program, FIU is hosting an Exile and Literature lecture series, offering a forum for nationally and internally renowned scholars to discuss the causes and consequences of exile.

On Monday, March 22, poet, fiction writer and scholar Gustavo Pérez Firmat will speak about “The Age of Exile.” Firmat, currently the David Feinson Professor of Humanities at Columbia University, has been called “a master of linguistic play” as well as “the terminator of cultural certainties.”

Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, he is the author of several books of literary and cultural criticism, collections of poetry, a novel and a memoir. His study of Cuban American culture, Life on the Hyphen, was awarded the Eugene M. Kayden University Press National Book Award in 1994. In 1997, Newsweek included him among “100 Americans to watch for the next century” and Hispanic Business Magazine selected him as one of the “100 most influential Hispanics.”

His talk is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Graham Center (GC 243) and is free and open to the public.

On April 12, there will be a panel discussion on “Exile and the Academe.” The event is also scheduled for 7 p.m. in GC 243.

For more information on the Exile Studies Certificate, click here or contact Milbauer at 305-348-3155.