April 3, 2005 – The humanities are the branches of learning concerned with human thought and relations, as language, literature, philosophy and history.
Jennifer Jackson, University of Virgin Islands chancellor, said during the opening remarks of the university's Humanities Festival that these are the branches of learning that allow us to "critically analyze" what is going on in our lives.
Literature, philosophy, history are always filled with unexpected turns, so a person who understands the humanities could accept what happened on the St Croix campus in the first event of week-long series of events.
Marvin Williams, an English professor at the university and the master of ceremonies, said, "People did not show. The sound system went down. We had to improvise a lot."
The audience of just over 100 people was rewarded with some gems of performances even if the program was not stitched together seamlessly.
The highlight of the evening came right at the end as Nereida Washington and Anika Johnson, a student at the university, recited in soft, singing voices, to the driving beat laid down by two unnamed drummers "CoColos de Cocolaudia." The piece originated in Dominica and, according to Washington, has just recently been translated by a local into a Crucian Creole.
The piece celebrates, first of all, the culture of all island people coming together as one people. Some of the things it celebrates specifically were dancing, singing, and carnival time.
Another part of the program, a skit from the "The Matchmaker" performed by the Berlina Wallace and Company, also was done in the Dominica version.
However, the evening started strictly V.I. style with several numbers by the Ebenezer Methodist Steel Band. Stanley Jones explained the church started the band in 1994 when it received a grant for an outreach program. The band worked so well that the church decided to continue to support it even after the grant money was gone. The band started with just over 30 members, but now has over 60.
A performance that brought a perspective that was not exactly island culture was done by the Middle Eastern Dancers, under the direction of Janzie Allmacher, a professor of nursing at the university. The group stirred the audience up with its moves and then it went off stage to encourage the watchers to become dancers. A couple peopled did get up and join in.
Jackson said in her remarks that the news of John Paul II's death emphasized all his accomplishments. She said he was able to accomplish what he did because of his grounding in the humanities. He was fluent in eight languages.
Jackson said that she hoped this 6th annual Humanities Festival would answer questions residents had about "the role and contributions of humanities to the culture." This year's festival is called a Caribbean Cultural Extravaganza with the theme Focus on the Folk: Virgin Islands Arts and Culture.
Events still to come at the St. Croix campus are:
Monday
7:30 p.m. "Focus on Folk Music" panel discussion and performance on quelbe/cariso music featuring Stanley Jacobs of Stanley and the Ten Sleepless Knights, Camille "King Derby" Macedon and Prince Galloway in the Cafetorium
Tuesday
9-11 a.m. Caribbean Film Presentations: "Family of the Caribbean" and "Once Upon a Time: A Story About Education in the Virgin Islands" in room EC 401
Wednesday
9 a.m. Oratorical Contest: "St. Croix Secession" in the Cafetorium
7 p.m. Poetry Readings, Poetry Contest Awards and open mic featuring readings by Erna Brodber in the Cafetorium.
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