This McMaster student is learning a different side to her home country in a Canadian classroom

Danielle Berges grew up in the Dominican Republic but it wasn't until she started studying in Canada that she learned a more balanced history of her homeland, she says.

The Dominican Republic shares an island with Haiti called Hispaniola, or La Española, in the Caribbean sea. 

When thinking about how the relationship between the two countries was presented in her high school classes, Berges recalls feeling that something was "off."  

"There's a narrative in the Dominican Republic that Haitians are the devil... and that they shouldn't be in our country," she said.

"The same rhetoric that Trump was using [about Haitians and other immigrants], our presidents were using [about Haitians]."

Berges now studies political science at McMaster University in Hamilton and is taking Introduction to Latin American and Latinx Studies. The class is helping her learn the other side of the story in Dominican-Haitian history, she says.

The course is new in 2022, and puts McMaster among a group of post-secondary institutions across Canada offering a look at decolonized history of Latin America and the Caribbean through new content and research. That group also includes work being done at: 

• The Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University, which was the first of its kind in Canada;
• The University of Calgary, which offers a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American studies;
• The University of Alberta and Carleton University, which offer majors in Latin American — and in some cases, Caribbean —  studies.

The McMaster course has helped Berges change her perspective on a number of issues, including border treaties, immigration and the perceived threat of Haitians. 

"The Dominican Republic has a way of making the issue [with Haiti] a historical thing, [by saying] 'we always hated each other, we've all done bad things'... Yet the reality is that there is a power dynamic, which we never learned about in the Dominican," she said.

It's also changed the way she processes news from home. For instance, a few weeks ago the homes of Haitians living close to the border were reportedly burned down by residents of Dominican Republic after those residents heard "one Haitian — supposedly, allegedly — killed the uncle of a former minister of defence," she said.

Berges said if she were back home, she might not have interpreted the news in the same way — as the awful event it was.

History through a different lens

Stacy Ann Creech de Castro is one of two professors teaching the new McMaster course. She is also from the Dominican Republic.

Creech de Castro said her home country, like many other countries in Latin America, is affected by the deep impact colonialism had in the region. 

In La Española's case, she said because Haiti — which was colonized by France — was the first formerly enslaved Black nation in the world, their neighbours to the east — colonized by Spain — demonized its citizens.

"It goes all the way back to there, and it just keeps growing and growing," she said of the impact.

Years of anti-Black dictatorships and education campaigns have made the Dominican Republic, with its own large Black population, develop a violent history toward its neighbours, said Creech de Castro.

That's why it's important to teach the class, which has students from all over the world, the rich history and misconceptions of Latin America, she added.

Berges said the class has helped her learn not only about her own identity, but also how minorities are oppressed in Latin America.

"It's so important that you learn that the idea of race that we have, it's built on colonization, and we are not the owners of that land. The owners were killed in a racial genocide."

"I wish we knew a lot more than that because [back home, we're taught] in a superficial way … it's still upholding the white colonizers."

'We are in the Americas'

Latin American Heritage Month — which is celebrated across Canada during the month of October —  is the perfect opportunity to bring attention to the history of Latin America and the intersecting identities of its people, says Creech de Castro.

"[People] don't know that there are many of us [from Latin America] who are Indigenous, who are Black, who are Asian, who speak Spanish, who speak Portuguese, who speak French, who speak Creole languages," says Creech de Castro, who identifies as AfroLatina.

Creech de Castro and Rodrigo Narro Pérez, the course's other professor, help decolonize history by highlighting authors from marginalized communities in Latin America.  

"We're not really revolutionizing things. We're highlighting scholars that are already doing the work," says Narro Pérez.

Another reason why it's so important for people in Canada to learn about Latin America is that "we are in the Americas," he said.

"Many Canadians go on holidays in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and Cuba, we know that. Where do you get your coffee and fruits? … So what are the connections beyond those things that Latin America provides for you?" he asks.

"Most of our migrant workers who work in Ontario farms are from Mexico and Haiti. So what responsibility does Canada have to being part of this continent that is the Americas?... I think there is a responsibility of understanding the colonial ties between Canada, the U.S., and Latin America."