On Academic Integrity and Religious Commitment
A person does not have to sacrifice or compromise his or her faith for the sake of scholarship or to attain academic fame/ prestige. One must not, however, undermine the evidence or the truth for the sake of safeguarding faith or religious conviction.
It is possible for maintain both intellectual (academic) integrity and religious commitment in the academia.
Writing in Translation and Translation in Writing
Those of you scholars, researchers, and writers who do not have to deal with the issue of translation in your scholarship I’m jealous of your privilege and luxury:-)
It has become an intellectual tradition for me whenever I have to write an essay or write a new book in English, I have to translate from the French to English. The majority of my interlocutors and conversation partners wrote exclusively in French (most of their writings are still not translated in English) and are from the Fracophone world including Francophone Caribbean and Africa.
With all honesty, I do not like to translate from one language to another. When I was doing my MA in French language and literature at the University of Louisville, I did not enjoy translating medieval French texts to contemporary French. One of the pivotal moments that marked my academic life happened when we as a class had to translate excerpts from the beautifully well-written poem “Roman de la Rose” (a 13th century French text) ( Romance of the Rose) to modern French. I was both happy and terrified: happy because the poem is beautifully narrated the intersections of the art of love, female sexuality, and gender dynamics; terrified because of the enormous task that was before me.:-)
We also translated Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a Dream” speech to contemporary French. I enjoyed that mental exercise.
Yes, Jesus saved me from my French Translation class. I passed it with an A and successful graduated with a Master’s degree in French Literature. And I left Louisville, Kentucky like a happy man. I do not miss the cold, but love the snowy season. LOL
A Congratulations Letter from the Director of Founding Director of the CUNY HAITIAN STUDIES
Below is the letter I received from the Founding Director of the CUNY HAITIAN STUDIES, Jean Eddy Saint Paul, PhD, to acknowledge the accomplishment of my second PhD in Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at the University of Pretoria.
I’m appreciative of this letter and look forward to collaborating with you and the Institute for the advancement of Haitian Studies and the improvement of Haitian lives in the United States and Haiti.
Brooklyn, New York, March 1st, 2017
To Professor Celucien L. Joseph, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English at Indian River State University, FL
Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Texas at Dallas &
Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
RE: Congratulations for your second Doctoral Degree “Doctor of Philosophy”
Dear Professor C. Joseph:
The City University of New York’s Haitian Studies Institute (CUNY-HSI) feels very proud of you and recognizes your academic credentials, as well as your contribution to the field of Haitian Studies. On behalf of the CUNY-HSI, housed at Brooklyn College, I congratulate you for your second Doctoral Degree “Doctor of Philosophy” from the University of Pretoria, South Africa.
I am looking forward to establish a world-class research institute to produce first-class investigations on Haiti and the Haitian diaspora, and to link scholarship on Haiti to social actions impacting the lives of Haitian people and other ethnic communities. I encourage you to keep doing this wonderful and impressive work for the advancement of the field.
I wish you many success at the graduation ceremony to be held on 2017-04-06.
Yours sincerely,
Sincerely,
Eddy
Dr. Jean Eddy Saint Paul
Director | CUNY Haitian Studies InstituteThe City University of New York | Brooklyn College | 3104 James Hall
Professor | Department of Africana Studies
c | 917.651.4612
e | JeanEddy.SaintPaul@brooklyn.cuny.edu & hsi@brooklyn.cuny.eduw | https://cuny.academia.edu/JeanEddySaintPaul
New book: Chimè et Tontons Macoutes comme milices armées en Haïti.
Twitter: @cuny_hsi
Facebook: CUNY Haitian Studies Institute
PhD Dissertation Abstract
SUMMARY
FAITH, HOPE, AND THE POOR: THE THEOLOGICAL IDEAS AND MORAL VISION OF
JEAN-BERTRAND ARISTIDE
by
Celucien L. Joseph
Supervisor: Prof Vuyani Vellem
Department: Faculty of Theology
University: University of Pretoria
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Keywords: Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Theological Ethics, Theological Anthropology,The Poor, Liberation Theology, Violence, Ubuntu
The objective of this research is to examine the theological ideas and moral vision of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and to explore how his theology (and theological hermeneutics and ethics) has influenced his politics of solidarity and social activism on behalf of the oppressed and the poor in Haiti in particular, and the wretched of the earth, in general. Through the use of the postcolonial, decolonial, and Liberation Theology paradigms as hermeneutical and theoretical methods of investigation, the project seeks to answer a threefold question: what is the relationship between theology and social activism and transformation in the thought and writings of Jean-Bertrand Aristide? What is the place and function of the community of faith, the poor, the oppressed, hope, and human liberation in the political theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide? What is the place of (defensive) violence in Aristide’s theology? Our goal in this scholarly investigation is an attempt to provide an answer to these daunting questions above and to explore more fully and intelligently the theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
This present study considers Aristide’s democratic and social justice projects and theological reflections and theological intersections in the disciplines of theological anthropology, theological ethics, and political theology, as he himself engages all four simultaneously. The doctoral thesis locates Aristide’s thought and writings within Black intellectual tradition both in continental Africa and the African Diaspora. It establishes shared intellectual ideas and parallelisms, and strong ideological connections between Aristide and Black theologians and thinkers in both continental Africa and the African Diaspora. On one hand, Aristide’s intellectual ideas and political activism should be understood in the context of the struggle for democracy in Haiti; on the other hand, it is suggested the intellectual articulations and propositions of these Black and African thinkers aim at a common vision: the project to make our world new toward the common good.
While we do not undermine the problem of violence in Aristide’s theology and political program in the context of Haitian history, the doctoral thesis argues that Aristide’s theological anthropology is a theology of reciprocity and mutuality, and correspondingly, his theological ethics is grounded in the theory of radical interactionality, interconnectedness, and interdependence, and the South African humanism of Ubuntu. It also contends that Aristide’s promotion of a theology of popular violence and aggression in the Haitian society should be understood as a cathartic mechanism and defensive violence aimed at defending the Haitian masses against the Duvalier regime and their oppressors.
La Pensée du Jour: The Cross of Christ and Colonial Conquest
The Cross of Christ is not a symbol of European conquest and hegemonic domination in the world; rather, the cross tells the devastating story of a sacrificial death and gift, and the transformative and redemptive love of God in Christ for the world and on behalf of all people.
La Pensée du Jour: In Solidarity with the Immigrant and the Poor
To stand in solidarity with the immigrant and the poor is a mark of true humanity, human empathy, and Christian hospitality.
We expect the United States of America to treat “immigrant people” (and all American citizens) with dignity and respect, and affirm their humanity as members of the human race, and not to demonize and dehumanize them because of their non-Anglo Saxon name, religion, worldview, or cultural practices.
The objective of this research is to examine the theological ideas and moral vision of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and to explore how his theology (and theological hermeneutics and ethics) has influenced his politics of solidarity and social activism on behalf of the oppressed and the poor in Haiti in particular, and the wretched of the earth, in general. Through the use of the postcolonial, decolonial, and Liberation Theology paradigms as hermeneutical and theoretical methods of investigation, the project seeks to answer a threefold question: what is the relationship between theology and social activism and transformation in the thought and writings of Jean-Bertrand Aristide? What is the place and function of the community of faith, the poor, the oppressed, hope, and human liberation in the political theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide? What is the place of (defensive) violence in Aristide’s theology? Our goal in this scholarly investigation is an attempt to provide an answer to these daunting questions above and to explore more fully and intelligently the theology of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.This present study considers Aristide’s democratic and social justice projects and theological reflections and theological intersections in the disciplines of theological anthropology, theological ethics, and political theology, as he himself engages all four simultaneously. The doctoral thesis locates Aristide’s thought and writings within Black intellectual tradition both in continental Africa and the African Diaspora. It establishes shared intellectual ideas and parallelisms, and strong ideological connections between Aristide and Black theologians and thinkers in both continental Africa and the African Diaspora. On one hand, Aristide’s intellectual ideas and political activism should be understood in the context of the struggle for democracy in Haiti; on the other hand, it is suggested the intellectual articulations and propositions of these Black and African thinkers aim at a common vision: the project to make our world new toward the common good.
While we do not undermine the problem of violence in Aristide’s theology and political program in the context of Haitian history, the doctoral thesis argues that Aristide’s theological anthropology is a theology of reciprocity and mutuality, and correspondingly, his theological ethics is grounded in the theory of radical interactionality, interconnectedness, and interdependence, and the South African humanism of Ubuntu. It also contends that Aristide’s promotion of a theology of popular violence and aggression in the Haitian society should be understood as a cathartic mechanism and defensive violence aimed at defending the Haitian masses against the Duvalier regime and their oppressors.
The Secret is Now Revealed! Another PhD in Systematic Theology and Ethics
In 2012, I received my first PhD in (English) Literary Studies–with an emphasis in African American Literature, African American Intellectual History, and Caribbean (both Francophone and Anglophone) Literature and Culture–from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).
However, since I have an academic background in Religious and Theological studies, I have always wanted to do a PhD in Biblical Studies or Theological Ethics. Two years later (Year 2014) after I earned the first PhD, I was enrolled in a (residential) research-driven only PhD program in Systematic Theology and Ethics at the University of Pretoria. I’m supposed to travel once a year to Pretoria to participate in the yearly conference designated for PhD candidates to share their research with other doctoral students. Due to my full time employment in the U. S., I couldn’t relocate to South Africa or travel yearly there for the symposium.
Hence, I negotiated with my amazing and intelligent doctoral supervisor, Dr. Vuyani Vellem, the first Black Liberation Theologian to teach at the Prestigious University of Pretoria(UP), to exempt me from that requirement. He agreed! I was excited to begin the new journey and undertake a research about the theological ideas and moral vision on Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic Priest, Liberation Theologian, and a two-term elected President of Haiti by an overwhelmingly popular vote.
I have entitled the dissertation “Faith, Hope, and the Poor: The Theological Ideas and Moral Vision of Jean-Bertrand Aristide,” which I successfully defended this morning: Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 4:00 A.M. (11:00 A.M. in Pretoria) via the amazing HD technology called Vidyo. It is better than Skype:-)
Folks: that was the secret I have kept from you for the past three years. Now, you know I can’t keep a secret. Lol
* I will post the dissertation abstract on a different post.
Katia Laurent-Joseph: Are you ready to travel to Pretoria, South Africa for the Graduation Ceremony in May 2017?
What am I going to do with two PhDs?
🙂
To God be the glory!
Christianity must speak radical truth, holistic redemption, democratic social justice, and transformative freedom to those who live in the margins in society.
Check out my newly-published article (it is very brief) in Reformed African American Network (RAAN)
“The Message of Jesus vs. Political-Bourgeois American Christianity”
drcelucienjoseph, "Thinking and Meditating" 