The Caribbean Digital Scholarship Collective (CDSC) successfully concluded its third and final Caribbean Digital Scholarship Summer Institute (CDSsi) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, marking a significant moment in the region’s digital humanities landscape. Held from June 8 to 14, 2025, this culminating week-long, residential program brought together 30 fellows from across the Caribbean and its diaspora to explore the future of Caribbean digital scholarship.

Funded by the Mellon Foundation, the CDSsi has run annually since 2023 with a mission to expand access to digital humanities training for scholars engaged in Caribbean Studies. The institute was designed to respond to longstanding barriers to access in digital humanities, such as the far distances and high costs required to attend programs centered in the US or Europe. This year’s cohort, which included university faculty, librarians, archivists, graduate students, and independent researchers, participated in one of three intensive courses: Introduction to Maps and Visualizations, Digital Publishing, and Building Caribbean Digital Archives.

Each course featured leading scholars in the Caribbean-focused Digital Humanities. The Introduction to Maps and Visualizations workshop, taught by Yale’s Alexander Gil and Andreina Soto, introduced fellows to foundational mapping techniques and the storytelling potential of geographic information systems. Meanwhile, the Building Caribbean Digital Archives course, led by Nicole N. Aljoe (Northeastern University) and Sonya Donaldson (Colby College), encouraged fellows to interrogate what constitutes memory and knowledge in Caribbean archives, primarily through a digital lens. Discussions ranged from Christina Sharpe’s concept of “becoming undisciplined” to the politics of archival access and preservation.

In addition to the workshop curriculum, the Institute coordinated a mid-week field trip to Create Caribbean’s Pelican Lab at the UWI Mona Library, where fellows attend a talk by Dr. Schuyler Esprit, the director and founder of the Create Caribbean Research Institute. One of the most significant achievements of CDSsi has been its inclusive, place-based model. By anchoring the institute at UWI Mona, the CDSC created space for more Caribbean-based scholars to participate meaningfully, fostering new cross-national collaborations. Alumni from previous years also returned, taking new courses to deepen their expertise and networks.

Thanks to CDSC members Kelly Baker Josephs and Gabrielle Jean-Louis for organizing this event!

The complete list of the 2025 cohorts is available here.