From 23 to 31 May 2025, Anne Brüske traveled to the Caribbean for a research and lecture visit. At the Universidad de la Habana, founded in 1728, she presented her research on ecocritical graphic novels of the Caribbean and researched Cuban archives, bookshops and second-hand bookshops on graphic as well as children's and youth literature.
Thanks to the Leibniz Science Campus “Europe and the Americas in the Modern World”, Anne Brüske was able to take part in the university-wide congress “Saber UH 2025” (Knowledge Universidad de la Habana 2025). The "Coloquio Caribe - Identidad, cultura y desarrollo sostenible en un mundo en crisis. Los desafíos del Caribe“ (”Caribbean Colloquium - Identity, Culture and Sustainable Development in a World in Crisis. Challenges for the Caribbean") brought together Caribbean researchers in the humanities, cultural and social sciences from Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Martinique, Québec, Brazil and the USA in the spirit of plurilingual area studies.
At the event in the historic San Gerónimo College in Old Havana, perspectives from the Global South were at the center of debates on culture, the environment and sustainable development. Thanks to the invitation of art historian Prof. Dr. Kirenia Rodríguez Puerto, Anne Brüske was able to present her current research on Puerto Rican graphic narratives on hurricanes for discussion.
The academic contributions were framed by a top-class cultural program. This included the opening of the exhibition “Ayé: Retorno a Cuba y a las Raíces Ancestrales en el Nuevo Mundo” with works by the artist Héctor Méndez in the Casa de África, curated by the conference organizers Kirenia Rodríguez Puerto and Maydi Estrada Bayona.
In addition to her research and lecture activities, Anne Brüske was able to network with numerous colleagues, authors and artists in Havana, such as the graphic artist Ares (Havana), the artist and web designer Aimee Zambrano (Caracas), the historian Yanelexy Soto (Havana) and the literary scholar Jorge Fornet (Casa de las Américas, Havana). In publishing archives, bookshops and second-hand bookshops, she searched for comics and graphic novels and, as part of her Cuba-Eastern Europe project with Karoline Thaidigsmann (University of Heidelberg), for children's and young adult literature since the end of the 19th century.
Anne Brüske was not only able to bring topics to Cuba, but also many impressions and comics back to Regensburg - she is looking forward to further cooperation with the Caribbean researchers in Havana and beyond!
