This McMaster student is learning a different side to her home country in a Canadian classroom

Danielle Bergesgrew up in the Dominican Republic but it wasn't until she started studying inCanada that she learned amore balanced history of her homeland, she says.

The Dominican Republic shares an island with Haiti calledHispaniola, orLa Espaola,in the Caribbean sea.

When thinkingabout how therelationship between the two countries waspresentedin her high school classes, Berges recalls feeling that something was "off."

"There's a narrative in the Dominican Republicthat Haitians are the devil... and that they shouldn't be in our country," she said.

"The same rhetoric that Trump was using [about Haitians andother immigrants], our presidents were using [about Haitians]."

Bergesnowstudiespolitical scienceat McMaster University in Hamilton and istaking Introduction to Latin American andLatinx Studies. Theclass is helping her learnthe other side of the story in Dominican-Haitian history, she says.

The course is new in 2022, and putsMcMasteramong a group ofpost-secondary institutionsacross Canadaoffering a look atdecolonized history of Latin Americaand the Caribbean through new content and research. That group also includes work being done at:

• TheCentre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University, which was the first of its kind in Canada;
• TheUniversity of Calgary, which offers a Bachelor of ArtsinLatin American studies;
• TheUniversity of AlbertaandCarleton University, which offermajors in Latin American and in some cases, Caribbean studies.

The McMaster course has helpedBerges change her perspective on a number of issues, including border treaties, immigration and the perceived threat of Haitians.

"The Dominican Republic has a way of making the issue [with Haiti] a historical thing, [by saying] 'we always hated each other, we've all done bad things'...Yet the reality is that there is a power dynamic, which we never learned about in the Dominican," she said.

It's also changed the way she processes news from home. For instance, afew weeks agothe homes of Haitians living close to the border were reportedly burned down by residents of Dominican Republic after those residents heard"one Haitian supposedly, allegedly killed the uncle of a former minister of defence," she said.

Berges said if she were back home, she mightnot have interpreted the news in the same way as the awful event it was.

History through a differentlens

Stacy Ann Creech de Castro is one oftwo professors teaching the new McMaster course. She is also from the Dominican Republic.

Creech de Castro said her home country, like many other countries in Latin America, is affected by the deep impact colonialism had in the region.

In La Espaola's case, she said because Haiti which was colonized by France was the first formerly enslaved Black nation in the world, their neighbours to the east colonized by Spain demonizedits citizens.

"It goes all the way back to there, and it just keeps growing and growing," she said of the impact.

Years of anti-Black dictatorships and education campaigns have made the Dominican Republic,with its ownlarge Black population, develop a violent history towarditsneighbours, said Creech de Castro.

That'swhy it's important to teach the class, which hasstudents from all over the world, the rich history and misconceptions of Latin America, she added.

Berges said the class has helped her learn not only about her own identity, but also howminorities are oppressedinLatin America.

"It's so important that you learn that the idea of race that we have, it's built on colonization, and we are not the owners of that land. The owners were killed in a racial genocide."

"I wish we knew a lot more than that because [back home, we're taught] in a superficial way it's still upholding the white colonizers."

'We are in the Americas'

Latin American Heritage Month which is celebrated across Canada during the month of October is the perfect opportunityto bring attention to the history of Latin America and theintersecting identities of its people, saysCreech de Castro.

"[People]don't know that there are many of us [from Latin America] who are Indigenous, who are Black, who are Asian, who speak Spanish, who speak Portuguese, who speak French, who speak Creole languages," says Creech de Castro, who identifies asAfroLatina.

Creech de Castro and RodrigoNarro Prez, the course's other professor, helpdecolonize history byhighlighting authors from marginalized communities in Latin America.

"We're not really revolutionizing things. We're highlighting scholars that are already doing the work," saysNarro Prez.

Another reason why it's so important for people in Canada to learn about Latin America is that "we are in the Americas," he said.

"Many Canadians go on holidays in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and Cuba, we know that. Where do you get your coffee and fruits? So what are the connections beyond those things that Latin America provides for you?" he asks.

"Most of our migrant workers who work in Ontario farms are from Mexico and Haiti. So what responsibility does Canada have to being part of this continent that is the Americas?...I think there is a responsibility of understanding the colonial ties between Canada, the U.S., and Latin America."