As part of the semester with Hamilton in France, students enrolled in Professor Stéphanie Bérard’s course, Rewriting Colonial and Postcolonial History in Words and Images, explored how literature, film, and visual culture challenge official narratives of the French colonial past. Spanning subjects from the transatlantic slave trade to contemporary migration, the class invited students to examine how francophone writers and artists from the Caribbean and Africa reclaim histories long told through a single lens.

Through novels, poetry, theater, documentary film, and historical images, students engaged with a wide range of voices and perspectives. Works by authors such as Aimé Césaire, Evelyne Trouillot, Ousmane Sembène, and Jean d’Amérique opened conversations about memory, resistance, identity, and representation. Professor Bérard’s interdisciplinary approach encouraged students to connect historical events with artistic expression, while developing their own critical reflections in an open and discussion-based classroom environment.

The highlight of the semester came in the final weeks with a special meeting with acclaimed Haitian writer Jean d’Amérique, followed by an initiation to reading aloud. After studying his play Opéra poussière, which brings to light the story of Sanite Bélair, a female resistance fighter of the Haitian Revolution long overlooked in historical narratives, students had the rare opportunity to engage directly with the author.

The session brought the course full circle, transforming literature from something read on the page into a living, spoken experience. It was a memorable reminder of how studying in Paris allows students not only to learn about culture and history, but to encounter the artists shaping those conversations today.