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CREOLE CITIZENS OF FRANCE: THE TRANS-ATLANTIC POLITICS OF ANTILLEAN EDUCATION AND THE CREOLE MOVEMENT SINCE 1945 by Sarah Moon McDermott Thompson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in The University of Michigan 2012 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Rita C-K Chin, Co-Chair Associate Professor Joshua H. Cole, Co-Chair Professor Marlyse Baptista Associate Professor Damon I. Salesa, University of Auckland © Sarah Moon McDermott Thompson –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 2012 DEDICATION To my parents, Marty and Lotus, and my husband, Kevin ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project is the culmination of a seven-year journey. When a journey takes this long to complete, there are many people to thank. While it is impossible for me to sufficiently express my gratitude in such a format, I hope my limited words will express how truly grateful I am for everyone who has helped me complete my graduate studies. First, I would like to thank my advisors, Joshua Cole and Rita Chin. Josh’s kind words of encouragement gave me the confidence to keep writing and push through all of the mental obstacles that come with writing a dissertation. He helped me turn drafts into chapters and chapters into a dissertation. Rita was equally helpful throughout my graduate career. I am thankful for the interest she took in my project. Her guidance encouraged me to think broadly about issues of race and immigration in Europe. Rita read multiple chapter drafts of this dissertation. I benefitted greatly from her comments, which encouraged me to think more deeply and concretely about my arguments. I would also like to thank Damon Salesa and Marlyse Baptista for serving as committee members. Damon’s class on comparative colonialisms informed much of my theoretical thinking when I first began developing ideas for this dissertation. Marlyse graciously offered me her expertise in linguistics and Creole languages. In my first research seminar as a graduate student, Dario Gaggio encouraged me to explore Antillean migrants’ appropriation of the Creole language to argue for the right to difference. I was able to explore this topic even further, as well as its connection to iii immigrant education policies, under Geoff Eley’s guidance in my second research seminar course. Geoff also helped me develop and conquer an enormous prelims list for modern Europe. This knowledge base enabled me to ground my dissertation in the broader history of Europe. This dissertation could not have been completed without financial support from the Rackham Graduate School, which provided me with numerous fellowships, including the Rackham Humanities Dissertation Fellowship, the Rackham Candidacy Fellowship, the Rackham International Research Award, the Rackham Merit Fellowship, as well as two separate research grants. I also received invaluable funding from Michigan’s Center for European Studies, the history department, and the U of M Alumni Club of Denver. Grants from these organizations provided me with the funds I needed to travel to France for preliminary dissertation research. The Sweetland Center for Writing helped me make the final push in completing drafts for all of my chapters. During my two months as a fellow in their Dissertation Writing Institute, I received invaluable feedback on drafts and was able to finish the last two chapter drafts of my dissertation. I am eternally grateful to Lorna Altstetter for ensuring that all of these fellowships and grants made it to my bank account. Kathleen King was always kind and prompt in her responses to my many questions about history department procedures. She has kept me organized and on track to graduation. Both Lorna and Kathleen brightened the atmosphere of the history department, and made it a welcoming place to come to work. The librarians at the Hatcher Graduate Library and the interlibrary loan staff helped me locate all of my obscure research requests. iv While at Michigan, I developed numerous friendships that kept me sane throughout my entire graduate school experience. Allison Abra, Minayo Nasiali, and Diana Mankowski paved the way, demonstrating how to complete a dissertation with one’s sanity and optimism intact. Minayo offered me advice and words of encouragement during the writing process when I was living in San Francisco and she was at U.C. Berkeley for a postdoctoral fellowship. During the prelims process, Sarah Miller created lists, discussed books, and endured writing long historiographic essays with me. She also drew me smiley faces when I needed them the most. Rebecca Grapevine hunkered down with me in the Hatcher library carrels during the final months and weeks of preparing for our exams. Our lunch breaks at Totoro helped me find a sense of calm amidst all of the stress. I am particularly thankful to Diana, Rebecca, Sara Lampert, and Crystal Chung for their close friendships. Our many girls’ nights of cooking and watching reality television provided me with fun and laughs when I needed it the most. Their support and camaraderie helped me toil classes, teaching, researching, and writing. Diana visited me in Paris and relieved me from the loneliness of research in a foreign country. I will always remember our private tour of the champagne caves in Reims. Sara provided me with many baking and shopping distractions, reminding me that not everything in life is so serious. She also encouraged me to have confidence in myself as a scholar. Diana, Sara, and I developed our friendships as graduate students, but I know that we will be lifelong friends. Many other Michigan history friends, including Suzi Linsley, Andrew Ross, and Ross Bowling, helped me to get away from the stress of graduate school at numerous happy hours. v Before I arrived at Michigan, my undergraduate advisor at Hamilton College, Kevin Grant, sparked my interest in Caribbean migrants in Europe. He made history exciting and inspired me to pursue a doctorate degree. At Hamilton College, Bonnie Krueger and Cheryl Morgan helped me hone my French language skills. I am particularly grateful to Professor Morgan for teaching me how to love Paris. When I studied abroad there as an undergraduate, I lived with Caroline and Philippe Wemaere. They graciously opened their home to me and became my French family. They continued to invite me to their home when I later returned to Paris as a graduate student. Without the encouragement of my close college friend, Mary Ryan, and her advice “to do the thing you cannot do”, I would never have made it to Paris. Her friendship made my junior year in a France a lot less lonely. Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis first inspired my love of history as a high school student. They taught me how to ask historical questions and perform research. Mrs. Robbins taught me everything about French grammar. Because of her, I was able to read all of my source material. Mr. Planck introduced me to the French language and France at Platt Middle School. His stories and slideshows about his adventures across France made me fall in love with France. My swim coaches, Tiffany Forbes, Jon Griffin, Dave Thompson, and TJ Davis taught me the meaning of dedication, perseverance, goal setting, and hard work. These proved to be invaluable skills when faced with the monumental task of researching and writing a dissertation. As a member of Hamilton College’s swim team I made numerous close friends who not only encouraged me in the pool, but in all areas of life. My childhood friends, Jocelyn Kanoff and Jessica Rothman, vi have stuck with me through everything, from middle school to my long stint as a graduate student. I am thankful for their lifelong friendships. Lastly, I am grateful for my family’s love and support. My many aunts, uncles, and cousins offered me numerous words of encouragement. In particular, my cousin, Erin Young, accompanied me on my first research trip to Paris as a graduate student. She was a fun travel companion and helped me enjoy my time outside of the archives. I am also thankful for my grandparents, whose own immigration story inspired me to learn about the lives of other migrants. My brother, Colin, was the reason why I applied to Michigan. He rescued me from having to search for an apartment on my own and found a place for us to live together in Ann Arbor during my first year and his final year at Michigan. Without him, I probably would not have survived that first year of graduate school. He offered me the comfort of family and many home cooked meals as I transitioned to a new life in Ann Arbor. My parents, Marty and Lotus, have provided me with unconditional love, support, and encouragement throughout my entire life. My father’s PhD in biochemistry may have pushed me away from the sciences, but inspired me to achieve the same academic success in the humanities. He instilled in me the work ethic needed to complete my doctorate, but also reminded me to enjoy myself along the way. My mother has modeled for me how to be a strong, confident, intelligent and beautiful woman. When I graduated from high school, she told me I was “bold, bright, and beautiful.” My parents’ belief in me has given me the confidence to follow my dreams and achieve my goals. I hope I have made them proud. vii Most importantly, I am forever grateful to my husband, Kevin, for being by my side throughout this entire journey. We started dating when graduate school was just an idea, became engaged when I was doing research in Paris, and were married during the dissertation writing process. While he was not physically with me in the early stages of my graduate career, he was with me as I wrote every word of this dissertation.

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