Hobart and William Smith Colleges

28 January 2025 • Faculty Understanding Race and Identity in the Dominican Republic By Colin Spencer '19

Immersive study abroad course allowed students to explore multiple aspects of life in Santo Domingo.

For three weeks over winter break, 15 students explored racial hybridity of Dominicans and components that make up the Dominican Republic’s racial history and culture while studying abroad in the country’s capital of Santo Domingo with Professor of History Colby Ristow. 

In “Africanidad and Amnesia: National Culture and the African Diaspora in the Dominican Republic,” students deepened their understanding of Dominican racial consciousness through a combination of readings, field trips and excursions across the country. They documented their insights and observations in journals, drawing from lessons, readings, and personal experiences during their travels. Ultimately, these journal entries were transformed into photo journals, exploring themes within two distinct tracks. The “Diaspora and National Culture” track encouraged reflections on topics like popular music, food, baseball and religion while the “Sociology and Identity” track focused on themes such as racial identity, Haitians and anti-Haitianism, and beauty and aesthetic practice.

Sites the students traveled to in the course included the Congos of Villa Mella, the Memorial Museum of Dominican Resistance, Three Eyes National Park, ImpACTA Kids Foundation and Juan Dolio Beach, among others. 

“I wanted to challenge students to think about the complex ways Dominican society has simultaneously embraced and erased its African heritage by looking for traces of the African diaspora in daily life in Santo Domingo,” says Ristow. “It turns out that Africa and its heritage is much more prominent, much more visible and much more celebrated than any of us expected.”

Cassie Lundgren ’26, a writing and rhetoric major, decided to take the course after exploring racial and ethnic patterns in “Race and Ethnic Relations” with Associate Professor of Sociology Kendralin Freeman. She was eager to broaden her understanding of culture beyond the United States. 

Through course materials, lectures and excursions, Lundgren says she “gained a more holistic understanding of racial consciousness and the racial characterizations and historical roots of the Dominican Republic.”

“Through this course, I’ve learned that getting out of your comfort zone invites growth,” says Lundgren. “One evening, we all participated in a dance class to learn salsa. I had been dreading it from the time I saw it on the syllabus, but it turned out to be an incredible experience.”

Anneliese Oetsen ’26, an international relations and media and society double major, took advantage of the course’s hands-on learning. 

“What I have taken from this experience is that those who appear to have so little often possess so much,” says Oetsen. “From sharing home-cooked meals in locals' homes to being invited to participate in their sacred dance traditions, I have realized that community and relationships are really what makes people wealthy.” 

International Relations and Business Management and Entrepreneurship double major Estelle Bignet ’26 says that the “course has opened my eyes about my privilege, and my love for travel.” She will be studying abroad this spring in Perth, Australia.

Top: HWS students pose with kids from baseball academy at the ImpACTA Kids Foundation.