UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Kahlil Chaar-Pérez, postdoctoral fellow in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures, will present “Revolutionary Indians: Ramón Emeterio Betances and the Specters of 19th Century Caribbean Patriotism,” at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 8 in Room 102 of the Kern Building.

This lecture will examine the revolutionary aesthetics and politics of the late-19th century Puerto Rican intellectual Ramón Emeterio Betances. An under-examined figure in Caribbean history, Betances stood out among the contemporary Hispanic Caribbean elite for his singular experiences of dislocation: He lived most of his life in France; he included Haiti within his vision of a Caribbean federation; and he was of African descent. Focusing on his early romantic novella “The Two Indians” (1853) and his texts on Haiti, we will ask how Betances’s resignification of indigeneity and patriotism offer alternate routes to understanding the emergence of nationalist traditions in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

This event is a part of the Comparative Literature Luncheon lecture series, a weekly, informal lunchtime gathering of students, faculty and other members of the University community. Each week the event begins at 12:15 p.m. — participants are encouraged to bring lunch; coffee and tea are free. At 12:30 p.m. there will be a presentation, by a visitor or a local speaker, on a topic related to any humanities discipline. All students, faculty, colleagues and friends are welcome. For a full list of Comparative Literature lunches, visit http://complit.la.psu.edu/news-events/comp-lit-luncheon-series.