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Hingston, Michael

Michael Hingston is the author of two books: Let’s Go Exploring, A History of the Comic Strip Calvin and Hobbes, and the novel The Dilettantes. His journalism has appeared in the Washington Post, the Guardian, Wired, and the Atlantic. He is currently working on a book of non-fiction about the Kingdom of Redonda.

Barnes, Dr. Clarice

The Sixth Lecture

in the

Memorial Lecture Series for Alphonsus “Arrow” Cassell

Thursday November 14

The Chance Pond Mermaid and Diamond Snake Meme: Contending Issues in Gathering Our Volcano Stories

The Chance’s Pond Mermaid and Diamond Snake folk tales are used as the starting point in exploring lived experiences of the Soufriere Hills Volcano from a decolonizing research perspective. It is argued that in utilising this perspective the voices of the people on Montserrat and their knowledge of the volcano are acknowledged as of critical importance in determining how their stories are collected, interpreted, and utilised. Methods of story gathering that objectify insider knowledge are criticised. Finally, it is argued that the decolonising research approach is transformative of both participant and researcher. 

Vernie Clarice Chambers Barnes is an independent scholar specialising in the Psychosocial Effects of the Montserrat Volcanic Disaster, Coping and Intervention.

Formerly Professor of Education and Psychology at the William VS Tubman University Liberia; Visiting lecturer in Public Health in Developing Countries at the University of Birmingham;   Programme Officer of the Women and Development Unit (WAND) University of West Indies, Barbados.

Developer and Host for nearly 15 years of “Under the Tamarind Tree” through which participants from Montserrat, the Caribbean and elsewhere share oral histories on ZJB Radio Montserrat. 

Publications and Talks to include:

• Barnes VC. (2019). Wretched of the Earth” Vulnerabilities/Capacities of Women In Disaster: Some Intersectional Issues (Work in Progress)
• Barnes VC. (2018). “Mother’s Day Musings From Under the Tamarind Tree”-An Interview with Peggy Antrobus. Interviewing the Caribbean, Volume 2.
• Barnes VC. (2017). Inclusive Education: Perspectives on Pedagogy, Policy and Practice-Two chapters on Post-Conflict and Disaster Perspectives from Liberia and Montserrat. Edited by Zeta Brown, Routledge Education Series
• Barnes VC. (2017). “A Yuh Look Pan Hell Wuk Yah”-Identity Conflicts in a British Overseas Territory. Paper presented at the Anguilla Open Campus Country Conference, April
• Barnes VC. (2015) Volcano@20 Discerning Shifting Rhythms and Beat. Annual Saint Patricks Day Lecture, Open Conference, Montserrat
• Barnes VC. (2014).The Mandela Legacy: Feminist Perspectives-Panel Presentation at WVS Tubman University Harper Maryland Republic of Liberia, March.
• Barnes VC. (2012) Masquerading in Montserrat: Significance, Motifs and Implications for Children/Youth Development-Paper presented at a Symposium entitled The Masquerade Lives, Guyana , Ministry of Education December 13-14
• Barnes VC. (2011) The Montserrat Volcanic Eruption Fifteen Years On: Adolescent Self-Perceptions and Identity, Paper presented at the Montserrat Volcano Conference, MVO, Cultural Centre Montserrat
• Barnes VC. (2010) Post-Colonial Hybridity as Represented In Arrow’s “Proud to be Montserratian-Paper presented at the Annual Arrow Symposium, Cultural Centre Montserrat
• Barnes VC. (2009) The Psychosocial Effects of the Montserrat Volcanic Disaster: Some Reflections Fourteen Years On, La Semaine De La Caribe CORECA Guadeloupe
• Barnes VC. (2007) “Holding On Or Letting Go”: Experiences from the Montserrat Volcanic Eruption, Methodist Magnet, UK
• Barnes VC. (2006). Psychosocial Effects of the Montserrat Volcanic Eruption and Coping: Some Reflections Ten Years On, Fourth Conference Cities on Volcanoes (IAVCEI) Quito-Ecuador
• Barnes VC. (2002) Shepherding in Ashy Times: Pastoral Care with Volcano Displaced Montserratians in the UK. Paper presented at Montserrat Conference, University of West Indies School of Continuing Studies
• Barnes VC. (2001) “Stress “Bussin” or Counselling in the Montserrat Volcanic Disaster. Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Vol. 26 No.3 September
• Barnes VC. (2001) A Gender Analysis of the Psychosocial Effects and Coping in the Montserrat Disaster. Journal of Eastern Caribbean Studies, Vol. 26 No.2 June
• Barnes VC. (2000) God Talk in Disaster: Some Gendered Experiences from Montserrat. Journal of Black Theology in Britain, Issue 5,
• Barnes VC. and Bradshaw R. (2000) Affirming God’s Presence in Natural Disaster. In Joe Aldridge (2000) Praying with Power, New York Cassell
• Barnes VC. (2000) The Montserrat Volcanic Disaster: A study of Meaning, Psycho-social Effects, Coping and Intervention. PhD thesis, University of Birmingham UK

Browne, Christene

Born in St. Kitts, Christene Browne moved with her family to Toronto, Canada in 1970.She enrolled in the Film Studies program at Ryerson in 1985 and started her production company, Syncopated Productions Inc. in 1990.

Her first two films Brothers in Music, a film about two struggling jazz musicians, and No Choices, a film that looked at the abortion issue and how it relates to women living in poverty, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1991 and launched Browne’s film career.  From that time onward Browne has consistently produced work that has examined the intersection of race, class and gender. 

She has worked independently and has business relationships with the National Film Board of Canada, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, OMNI TV, Starz, PBS BET, Al Jazeera and others.  Her films have won numerous awards and have been screened and broadcast internationally. In 1999, Browne completed the semi-autobiographical film Another Planet, her first dramatic feature film and the first feature film to be directed by a Black woman in Canada.

In 2008, she completed Speaking in Tongues: The History of Language, a ground breaking five-part documentary series that looks at the History of Language from pre-historic time to the present day.  Noam Chomsky and many other notable linguists are featured in this series. This film received the 2011 Visionary Documentary award from the Women International Film and Television Showcase.

In 2013, her first novel, Two Women, a cautionary tale about two women who share the same soul was published. In 2016, she completed a Masters in Communication and Culture, an interdisciplinary joint program of York University and Ryerson University.  Most recently, Browne completed her second novel, Philomena (Unloved), a story about a woman who lives a life devoid of love and which is set partially in Montserrat.

In addition to her film and literary work, Browne has also worked as a film programmer, curator and media arts instructor. She is currently, working on her third novel, doing the promotion for a feature length documentary about the redevelopment of Regent Park, a low-income community in Toronto where Browne spent her formative years and lecturing in the Radio and Televisions Arts (RTA) department at Ryerson University.

Grills, Dr. Cheryl Tawede

Dr. Cheryl Grills is a Clinical Psychologist with a current emphasis in Community Psychology.  A national Past President of the Association of Black Psychologists, Dr. Grills, is a tenured, Full Professor at Loyola Marymount University and Director of the Psychology Applied Research Center.

She currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles County Sybil Brand Commission which addresses conditions and practices within adult LA County jails, youth probation and correctional facilities, and group homes for children. She also served as Co-Executive Director of Los Angeles County’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Child Protection leading to important changes in the child welfare system. As part of the Association of Black Psychologists’ team, Dr. Grills co-designed the Emotional Emancipation (EE) Circles community self-help model developed by The Community Healing Network and is the leader of the EE Circles Training Team.  She trains people of African ancestry around the world.

Her research interests, publications, and projects include African Psychology, mental health prevention and treatment with African-Americans, substance abuse, community psychology, community mental health, and applied research as well as program evaluation with community-based organizations engaged in community organizing on a host of social justice issues. Among others, she currently leads research and evaluation on the California Reducing Disparities Project—a mental health disparities project; a CDC REACH grant on health equity issues; and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant examining community organizing as a public health strategy to address childhood obesity in communities of color.

Among others, her publications include:

• African psychology and the global movement for freedom from the lie of Black inferiority. Alternation, in press.
• African, Black, neither or both? Models and strategies developed and implemented by the Association of Black Psychologists. Journal of Black Psychology, 44(8), 791-826.
• Breathe, baby, breathe: Clearing the way for the emotional emancipation of Black people. Journal of Cultural Studies and Critical Methodologies. 16(3), 333-343.
• Culture, racial socialization, and positive youth development. Journal of Black Psychology, 42(4) 343–373 1-31.
• African psychology. In R. Jones (Ed). African psychology. Hampton, VA: Cobb and Henry.
• Reflections on the culturally adaptive model of counseling for persons of African descent: An African centered perspective. In: Gallardo, Yeh, Parham, & Trimble (Eds.). Working Culturally and Responsively with Persons of African, Asian, Latino, and Native Descent: The Culturally Adaptive Model of Counseling. Woodland Hills: Sage Publications.
• Making the invisible visible: Identifying and articulating culture in practice-based evidence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1-14.
• The geography of crime and violence surrounding tobacco shops, medical marijuana dispensaries, and off-sale alcohol outlets in a large, urban low-income community of color. Preventive Medicine, 108, 8-16.
• Empowerment Praxis: Community Organizing to Redress Systemic Health Disparities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 58 (3-4), 488-498.
• Community organizing for healthier communities: Environmental and policy outcomes of a national initiative. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 51(6), 916-925.
• Engaging homeless youth in Community-Based Participatory Research: A case study from Skid Row, Los Angeles. Health Promotion and Practice, 1524839912472904, 18-27.
• California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP) Phase 2 Statewide Evaluation: Best Practices in Community Based Participatory Practice. Prepared under California Department of Public Health contract # 15-10603. Psychology Applied Research Center. Los Angeles, CA: Loyola Marymount University.
• The Association of Black Psychologists: Context, Perspective, and Mission of ABPsi – Present & Future. The Journal of Black Psychology,39 (3), 276-283.