Documentary of 18th-century Jamaican National Hero and Guerrilla Fighter Centers on Her Legacy as Caribbean Naturalist
New York University will host a screening of Reimagining Queen Nanny: Her Sword, A Seed, a documentary on the life of Jamaican national hero Queen Nanny of the Maroons, on Tues., Oct. 10, 6-8 p.m. at the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center’s screening room (53 Washington Square South [betw. Sullivan and Thompson Sts.]).
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the documentary’s producer, NYU Professor Leo Douglas, a clinical associate professor at NYU Liberal Studies and the director of the Caribbean Initiative in the Center for Caribbean and Latin American Studies (CLACS), and the film’s narrator and co-writer, Marcia Douglas, the associate chair for creative writing at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at the NYU events calendar. For more information or to request accessibility accommodations, please email lsdeansoffice@nyu.edu or call 212.998.7120.
Jamaican Maroons fought for their freedom from slavery in the 18th century in the then-colony of Jamaica. Queen Nanny of the Maroons, born in present-day Ghana, was among their leaders—celebrated, in particular, for her skills in insurgent warfare. However, much less is known about her contributions as one of the island’s first naturalists—the focus of the documentary. The work chronicles Queen Nanny of the Maroons’ central role as an early Afro-Caribbean eco-spiritual leader while also examining racial identity, gender, sexuality, and religion.
The event recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ Day and National Heroes’ Month of Jamaica.
Leo Douglas’ scholarship explores race, gender, and the environment and has been published in Biodiversity and Conservation, Biotropica, Environment and Society, The Journal of Caribbean Ornithology, and Biological Conservation and includes A Teacher’s Guide to the Birds of Jamaica. Marcia Douglas, who portrays Queen Nanny of the Maroons in the documentary, has penned The Marvellous Equations of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim, Notes from a Writer’s Book of Cures and Spells, and Madam Fate as well as a poetry collection, Electricity Comes to Cocoa Bottom.
Subway Lines: 6 (Astor Place); R, W (8th Street); A, B, C, D, E, F, M (West 4th Street).
About NYU’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
The NYU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) was founded in 1966, as the first area studies center at NYU. CLACS holds a national and international reputation that derives from the strength of its research-active affiliated faculty. CLACS hosts faculty and student research abroad, faculty working groups and faculty-directed area studies initiatives, extensive public programming, from lectures to film series and a range of events and workshops for K-12 teachers. The Center is highly regarded for its rigorous, interdisciplinary MA program, one of the oldest and most successful in the field. CLACS has joint MA programs with Global Journalism, Museum Studies, Law, and Library Science.
About NYU Liberal Studies
Liberal Studies at NYU is recognized for its interdisciplinary, global liberal arts curriculum, experiential learning and small, seminar-style classes. It offers the best of both worlds: a small college experience nestled within a large urban research university. Liberal Studies has the second largest entering first year undergraduate class each year at NYU. Its classrooms are small; its presence is large and far-reaching.