Nadège T. Clitandre received her B.A. in English Literature from Hampton University, a M.A. in the Humanities at the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies with a designated emphasis in Women, Gender, Sexuality at the University of California, Berkeley in 2009.  Before joining the program in 2011, Clitandre was the recipient of the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of English and the Center for Black Studies Research at UCSB.  She holds an affiliate appointment in the Department of Black Studies and Comparative Literature. She is the Haiti coordinator of the Haiti Projects at the Center for Black Studies Research.

 

Clitandre works on theoretical framework s of the African Diaspora, migration and displacement, and transnationalism with a particular focus on Haiti and Haitian diasporic literature. Her teaching interests include diaspora studies, anticolonial literature, postcolonial Caribbean Women’s literature, and NGO and Humanitarian intervention in Haiti post-earthquake.  Clitandre is also the founder of Haiti Soleil, a nonprofit organization that focuses on engaging youth and building community through the development of libraries in Haiti.

 

Clitandre's first monograph, Edwidge Danticat: The Haitian Diasporic Imaginary, published by the University of Virginia Press, is now available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813941873/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_12?ie=U...

 

 

Andy Merolla studies how people maintain social and personal relationships and overcome relational challenges through communication. Andy’s research examines topics such as conflict management, interpersonal forgiveness, long-distance relational maintenance, and individuals’ experiences following natural disasters. His most recent research explores the role of communication in constructing hope and the important role that hope plays in managing difficult situations in romantic and family relationships. Using approaches such as experience sampling, his current research is also analyzing the interplay of communication and cognition in everyday interaction within social networks ("social biomes").

 

Andy’s research can be found in journals, such as Communication Research, Communication Theory, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Personal Relationships. He has also been quoted in articles appearing in various media outlets, such as the Wall Street Journal, FiveThirtyEight, and The Atlantic. Currently, Andy is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

 

At UCSB, Andy teaches courses in communication theory, conflict management, interpersonal communication, and nonverbal communication.