Kassav’, theme of a symposium in Martinique

7 May 2019 Évelyne Chaville and Translation : Évelyne Chaville

On the occasion of the 5^th edition of the Martinique International Zouk Festival and the 40^th anniversary of Kassav’, on June 19 and 20 will be held at the Université des Antilles, in Martinique, and in the town hall of Schoelcher an international symposium entitled: “Zouk : trajectories, imaginations and perspectives”.

gwadloup festival dimanche by cedric 11401

In the presentation of this international meeting that will take place at the Michel Louis amphitheater on the Schoelcher campus in Martinique, the organizers ask many questions about this music invented by Kassav’ – this group founded in 1979 by musicians from Guadeloupe Pierre-Édouard Decimus and Jacob Desvarieux and made up of Guadeloupeans and Martinicans – among them :

Why, therefore, is there this love-hate attitude toward Zouk in our countries, while the music is welcomed in an unbiased manner elsewhere in the world?
Could the-creolization of Zouk or re-appropriation of the Creole imagination by Kassav’ augur an avant-garde posture of resistance, a postulate, a founding principle allowing a system of thought to emancipate the peoples of Guadeloupe and Martinique from their complexes in the long run?
Given that Zouk has the upper hand in the French sphere in terms of sales, certifications, awards an international visibility, could we not envisage it as a driving force for the cultural and touristic economy of the islands? Could it pave the way for the apparition of a synergy within a network encompassing the exploitation, production and distribution of its output (broadcasting, media, the Internet, professions linked to the living arts, communication and information…)?
What kind of impact has been or is likely to proceed from the influence of Zouk on the Caribbean in such fields as literature, arts, lifestyles, social organization, communication modes, awareness, collective representations and imaginations?
What about the impact of Zouk on international productions?

The fields of research will be, among others, musicology, ethnomusicology, art, linguistics, psychology, history, human sciences, philosophy, political science etc.

Analyzes could look into, for example :

Kassav’s thought and the construction of a Zouk aesthetics (the issue of root and identity; the central role of drums, carnivalization…)
Kassav’ : a poetics of negritude and creolization, an aesthetics of marooning
The reception of Kassav’ in Guadeloupe, Martinique, France, the US, in Africa, Japan, Europe (clubbing culture on a local, national or international level)
The relationship with dance and its local, national or international evolution
Kassav’ and Africa (the sacral dimension, return to roots…)
Comparative studies on Zouk in a local, national or international context

The deadline for sending your proposal to the organization is May10. The response of the Scientific Committee will be known on May 30, 2019. Contact, Gérald Désert : gdesert972@gmail.com

Organizational Committee
Gérald DÉSERT, Université des Antilles

Rosselyne ASTASIE, President of Lynnaj Art Event

Jean-Marc ROSIER, President of Mélanges Caraïbes

Malissa CONSEIL, Université des Antilles

Frédéric LEFRANÇOIS, Université des Antilles

Scientific Committee

Corinne MENCÉ-CASTER, Professor, Paris IV-Sorbonne

Catherine LAVENIR, Professor, Paris III-Sorbonne Nouvelle

Hidehiro TACHIBANA, Professor, Waseda University, Japan

Raphaël CONFIANT, Professor, Université des Antilles

Victorien LAVOU, Professor, Université de Perpignan

Miho WATANABE, Associate Professor, Waseda University, Japan