Bridget Jones Award 2017

Recipient of Bridget Jones Travel Award Jean Philippe Moiseau

The recipient of the 2017 Bridget Jones Travel Award is Jean Philippe Moiseau from the Dominican Republic. He will be coming to the 41st Annual Conference for the Society for Caribbean Studies at the University of Essex to make his presentation on “Grann Brijit: Unmasking Haitian Vodou.”

According to Moiseau “could certain episodes in Haiti’s history have given rise to clichés surrounding Vodou? Persecuted in Haiti, Vodouisants saw vodou banned, faced anti-superstition campaigns and were forced to convert to Christianity. Vodou has been distorted in the mass media and portrayed as evil.”

His presentation aims to interrogate these commonplaces, by depicting an alternative take on Vodou and underscoring its continued relevance for Haiti today.

Audley Chambers, Chair Bridget Jones Award Committee