“End-of-the Year Reflections: A Few Academic Things I’ve accomplished in 2021”

As I get closer to the end of this academic semester and year, I begin to reflect on a few things that I have accomplished in the academic year 2021. My brain is literally exhausted and has no more room for additional academic works or intellectual musings. In the fall semester 2022, I will request my sabbatical from work. Also, in Fall 2022, I will be eligible to apply for full professorship at my institution. Allow me to share with you a few academic things I have done this year:

1. Wrote a book on Theological education, hermeneutics, diversity, and human flourishing (I submitted the final manuscript about three months ago to the publisher: Wipf and Stock publishers); hopefully, the book will be released in summer 2022.
2. Completed five academic book reviews for peer-review journals:

a) Dubois, Laurent, Kaiama L. Glover, Nadève Ménard, Millery Polyné, and Chantalle F. Verna, eds. “The Haiti Reader: History, Culture, Politics” (Duke University Press, 2020).

b) Chelsea Stieber, “Haiti’s Paper War: Post-Independence Writing, Civil War, and the Making of the Republic, 1804–1954” (NYU, 2020)

c) Raphael Dalleo, “American Imperialism’s Undead: The Occupation of Haiti and the Rise of Caribbean Anticolonialism” (University of Virginia Press, 2016)

d) Raoul B. Altidor, “Haiti and the American Military Occupation (1915-1934)” (CIDHICA Publisher, 2019)

e) Todne Thomas, “Kincraft: The Making of Black Evangelical Sociality” (Duke UP, 2021)Directed/conducted six interviews for Haiti Then and Now’s interviews series: “Haitian Thinkers in the Public Space”

3. Directed/conducted six interviews for Haiti Then and Now’s interviews series: “Haitian Thinkers in the Public Space”

4. Reviewed 2 book manuscripts for academic publishers.

5. Participated in three academic conferences: chaired four panels and delivered three individual papers.

6. Taught five courses: 3 hybrid ones and 2 exclusively online courses

7. Co-edited our Students’ Journal associated with the Writing Club: the second issue came out two months ago.

8. Taught an additional course at a University in Haiti—as a Visiting Professor.

9. Wrote six letters of recommendation for students, friends, and colleagues.

10. Published four opinion pieces in various online media newspapers and magazines

11. Delivered two keynotes as invited guest.

12. Wrote two book endorsements for two publishing presses.

13. Conceived a new book project and wrote the Call for Papers for an edited volume on interreligious dialogue between Vodou and Christianity in Haiti

14. Mentored and helped two friends who are writing their doctoral dissertations.

15. Held (I was the guest speaker) two training conferences for Haitian leaders and clergy.

16. Published a new book, that is, an edited volume with Paul Mocombe: “Reconstructing the Social Sciences and Humanities: Anténor Firmin, Western Intellectual Tradition, and Black Atlantic Tradition” (Routledge, April 2021)

17. Contributed two book chapters (one in French, the other in English) to two excellent volumes.

*** I am thankful to the most gracious and the most compassionate God for sustaining me, my family, my students, and my friends throughout this challenging year.

What I am looking forward to in the New Year 2022:

• The Year 2022 will be the year of rest for me.
• I will not be writing anymore book reviews for academic journals.
• I will not take on that many speaking engagements nor will I get involved in so many writing activities.
• The Year 2022 will bring a radical change in my academic year. I will announce the news later next year.
• I would like to spend the following year strengthening my spiritual walk with God, enhancing my relationships with my family and siblings, and improving my interactions with friends and colleagues.
• In 2022, I hope to resume an important activity that I enjoyed doing before COVID: hanging out with and feeding the poor and the homeless at the City Park in Fort Pierce.