Evelyn Powell Jennings wants her students to know the Caribbean is more than romantic islands. Jennings, chair and associate professor of history, is a key figure in St. Lawrence’s Caribbean and Latin American studies (CLAS) program, which she says began as an attempt to confront concerns about United States policy in the region in the late 1980s, and to address growing interest in the experiences of Latinos in the United States.

“The CLAS program provides an opportunity to study the vibrant, diverse cultures and societies of Central and South America, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean,” she explains. It is different from other programs in the diverse interests and academic backgrounds of its faculty and students. “CLAS is also unique in that it allows students to study the fascinating history, environment and mix of cultures in a region that is often overlooked in high school and college curricula,” she adds.

While teaching, Prof. Jennings has also found time to explore her own research interests. She is completing a book on state slavery in Havana, Cuba, titled Constructing the Empire in Havana. She has recently begun a new project using a collection of private papers in the Owen D. Young Library Special Collections at St. Lawrence on a Cuban family, the Hernández, whose members spanned the United States, Cuba and Europe.

Prof. Jennings received her Ph.D. in European and Atlantic history from the University of Rochester. After joining the St. Lawrence faculty in 2002, she became the Margaret Vilas Chair of History in Latin American studies. She teaches Survey of Caribbean and Latin American Studies, as well as courses on Colonial and Modern Latin America, Imperial Spain, Slavery and Freedom in the Americas, and Atlantic History. In addition to teaching, she enjoys reading fiction, watching films, cooking Latin and Italian food, and gardening.
                                                                                                           
--Margaret Quackenbush