Matthew Casey, "Empire’s Guestworkers: Haitian Migrants in Cuba During the Age of US Occupation" (Cambridge UP, 2017)

Summary

In the early 20th century, thousands of Haitian men, women and children traveled to Cuba in search of work and wages. In Matthew Casey's, Empire’s Guestworkers: Haitian Migrants in Cuba During the Age of US Occupation (Cambridge University Press, 2017) digs deep into the archives, reading along and across the grain to tell stories about their lives. This book encourages us to rethink this moment when labor and migration were at the heart of empire. Casey’s analysis of the role of the state, the significance of leisure and spirituality, and the dynamics of gender and race during this period are pathbreaking and make for fascinating reading.

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Alejandra Bronfman

Alejandra Bronfman is Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies Latin American, Caribbean & U.S. Latino Studies at SUNY, Albany.

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