Journal of Haitian Studies

Journal of Haitian Studies
Title	Journal of Haitian Studies
Discipline	Haitian studies
Language	English, French, Haitian Creole
Abbreviation	J. Hait. Stud.
Publisher	Haitian Studies Association
History	1995–present
Frequency	Biannual

Journal of Haitian Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to interdisciplinary research on Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. The journal publishes scholarship on Haitian history, culture, literature, politics, and society, engaging scholars affiliated with institutions such as Boston University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Miami, and Université d'État d'Haïti. Contributors have included researchers connected to projects at Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, New York University, Harvard University, State University of New York, and University of California, Los Angeles.

History

The journal was founded in 1995 by members of the Haitian Studies Association during meetings attended by scholars from Duke University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, Yale University, and Rutgers University. Early issues featured work on the aftermath of the 1991 Haitian coup d'état and the return of Jean-Bertrand Aristide after the 1994 United States intervention in Haiti. Editors and contributors over time have included affiliates of Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, and research centers such as the Haiti Cultural Exchange and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at University of Florida. The journal has documented events including the 2004 Haitian coup d'état, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2016 Hurricane Matthew, and political crises involving figures like René Préval and Michel Martelly, while engaging debates linked to migrations through Haitian boat people movements and diasporic communities in Brooklyn, Miami, Montreal, Paris, and Santo Domingo.

Scope and focus

The journal's remit includes historical studies of the Haitian Revolution, analyses of cultural production linked to authors such as Jean Price-Mars, Frankétienne, Jacques Roumain, Edwidge Danticat, and Léon-François Hoffmann, and examinations of religious practices like Vodou, as practiced at sites connected to Gros-Morne, Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and rural parishes. It features literary criticism on works including The Black Jacobins, discussions of legal frameworks shaped by the Code Noir and postcolonial jurisprudence in cases tied to Haiti v. United States precedents, anthropological fieldwork in regions like Cap-Haïtien and Jacmel, and public health studies responding to epidemics such as the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti. The journal engages interdisciplinary approaches influenced by scholarship from Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, Edward Said, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Paul Farmer.

Editorial board and publisher

The journal is published by the Haitian Studies Association in collaboration with university presses and hosted editorially at institutions including Temple University, University of Miami, University of Florida, and Brown University. The editorial board has featured academics associated with departments of African and African Diaspora Studies at University of Texas at Austin, Latin American studies at University of California, Berkeley, and Caribbean studies at University of the West Indies. Editors have coordinated special issues with partners such as Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Inter-American Development Bank, and cultural organizations like Caribbean Studies Association.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is indexed in bibliographic databases and indexing services that catalogue work in regional and area studies, including listings used by JSTOR, Project MUSE, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and university library catalogues at Bibliothèque Nationale d'Haïti, Library of Congress, British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and WorldCat. Its presence in academic indexes supports discovery among scholars publishing in venues such as American Historical Review, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Callaloo, and Small Axe.

Notable articles and contributions

Noteworthy contributions have addressed the legacy of the Haitian Revolution and figures like Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, revisited land policy debates influenced by Henri Christophe, examined constitutional histories referencing the 1801 Constitution of Saint-Domingue and the 1805 Constitution of Haiti, and analyzed contemporary politics involving Ariel Henry and Jovenel Moïse. Influential essays have drawn on archival materials from the Archives Nationales d'Haïti and collections at Bibliothèque Schomburg and engaged with visual culture studies including photographers like Gilles Peress and filmmakers such as Raoul Peck and Julia Gorton. Special issues have focused on migration to diasporic hubs including New York City, Boston, Toronto, Lyon, and London, and on transnational movements connected to organizations like the International Organization for Migration.

Reception and impact

The journal is cited in monographs and edited volumes published by presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Duke University Press, Routledge, and Palgrave Macmillan. It is used in curricula at institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and McGill University for courses on Caribbean history, literature, and public health. Reviews and citations appear in disciplinary outlets including American Anthropologist, The Journal of Latin American Studies, Hispanic American Historical Review, and The Caribbean Quarterly, and the journal has been recognized by organizations like the Haitian Studies Association for contributions to scholarship on Haiti.

Category:Academic journals Category:Caribbean studies journals Category:Haitian culture