Seeing the juxtaposition and melding of Francophone, Caribbean, and Pan-African cultures everywhere in Martinique brought to life some of the concepts about the complex modern Caribbean identity that I’ve studied in my LSA classes.
Ben Kalosa-Kenyon is a senior in the Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS), double-majoring in international studies and French. For Ben, the island of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France in the eastern Caribbean, was both a classroom and a laboratory for observation, thanks to the Boyce Family Caribbean Studies Grant. For seven weeks last summer, Ben worked as an intern instructor at the École Bilingue de Martinique, leading elementary through middle school students in a bilingual summer school program. His job challenged him to keep the kids engaged, which he creatively accomplished through a range of subjects, from physical education and recreation to academic and creative lessons, including music theory, art, creative writing, and French/English grammar. At the school, Ben gained a deeper understanding of everyday Martinican life, as well as how French colonialism has shaped—and continues to influence—the language, culture, and identities of the people of Martinique.
A transfer student, Ben attended university in Paris as an international student after high school, and has a research interest in France’s former colonies and the way in which economic patterns from the colonial period continue to influence the regions today. In Martinique, he also observed how language differences in spoken French—such as those between standard Parisian French and Québécois French, as well as variations of the language like Martinique (or Antillean) Creole—carry deep social implications. As one of few Americans on the island, he also endured some ribbing from his students about his French accent, he says. “My teaching internship was challenging at times, but the students taught me as much as I taught them,” Ben reflected.
Ben embraced life in Martinique, seeking out a wide variety of cultural experiences that not only enriched his planned senior thesis, which focalizes French Caribbean literature, but also helped him form friendships and a deeper personal connection to the island and its people. He spent afternoons at the local beaches, met Martinican artists and students his own age, went out at night in the capital Fort-de-France, where he danced to Zouk music on La Rue Colorée, and hung out at an all-day reggae festival. “Seeing the juxtaposition and melding of Francophone, Caribbean, and Pan-African cultures everywhere in Martinique brought to life some of the concepts about the complex modern Caribbean identity that I’ve studied in my LSA classes,” he noted.
He also had the opportunity to attend his first major academic conference, the Caribbean Philosophical Society’s (CPA) “Fanon at 100,” which explored the critiques and theories of Frantz Fanon, a prominent Martinican political philosopher who wrote about the impacts of colonization on the psyches of colonized people. A visit to the Mémorial de l’anse Cafard (Anse Caffard Slave Memorial)—an installation of 15 massive concrete figures facing the sea toward the distant Gulf of Guinea, commemorating the enslaved Africans who drowned in a midnight shipwreck off the coast in 1830, 15 years after laws were passed banning the importation of new enslaved people to the Caribbean—left a lasting impression. “The history lives in the landscape,” he said. For undergraduates like Ben, these firsthand experiences underscore that history is not only found in texts or monuments, but also in streets, schools, and daily life.
The Boyce grant made this immersion possible, covering travel, rent, and living expenses. Without it, Ben noted, “I wouldn’t have been able to involve myself in the community or engage so deeply with the island’s culture and history.” His summer in Martinique inspired him to consider how he can have a more direct impact after graduation, too, potentially leading him toward a career in education. “I’d really like to find my way back to Martinique; I’d love to teach there again.”
Read about Paul and Simone Boyce's personal inspiration for establishing the Boyce Family Caribbean Studies Grant.
Read "Voices from the Caribbean," and learn about all three 2025 Boyce Family Caribbean Studies Grant recipients, Maya Sudarkasa, Simon Rakei, and Ben Kalosa-Kenyon.
Life-changing Education in LSA
In the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, life-changing education in the liberal arts and sciences extends beyond the classroom, and research and discovery happen further afield. Culturally immersive international internship and field research opportunities—like those that the Boyce Caribbean Studies Grant supports—expand students’ perspectives and help them contextualize global affairs, including political, educational, societal, and economic issues.
Look to Michigan for the foundational knowledge and experience to ignite purposeful change.
LSA is the place where creative thinkers engage with a complex, diverse, and changing world. See how your support can make an impact on what’s next, for a better tomorrow. Learn more.
