USM Library Adds The Conch Paradox Ahead of Public Talk
September 28, 2026
USM Library has added an inscribed copy of The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience by Aruban economist Rendell de Kort ahead of his public talk at USM on September 30 at 7:00 PM.
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten, The University of St. Martin (USM) Library has added an inscribed copy of The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience, Second Edition, to its collection ahead of a public talk and conversation with author and Aruban economist Rendell de Kort on Wednesday, September 30.
De Kort presented the book to Ms. Stacey Thomas, USM Librarian, on Monday, September 28. The copy is now available through the USM Library for students, faculty and staff to borrow.
The Conch Paradox takes its title from the queen conch and uses the shell as a metaphor for resilience. The conch develops a strong protective shell, but the very structure that provides protection can also become limiting. De Kort applies this idea to individuals, families and small island economies, asking when systems designed to provide stability and protection may begin to restrict adaptation and change.
The subject is particularly relevant to small island societies such as St. Maarten, where questions surrounding economic dependence, vulnerability, recovery and resilience continue to shape conversations about the island’s future. De Kort will return to USM on Wednesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM for a public talk and conversation at the University’s campus on Soualiga Road. Students from three USM courses, members of the United Women Book Club, and members of the wider community are expected to participate.
“St. Martin knows this chapter better than I do,” De Kort said. “Most of the economy comes in through one door, and in 2017 as well as during COVID everyone here saw what happens when that door shuts. I would rather spend Wednesday hearing how people here read it than reading it to them.”
USM Research Coordinator Raymond Jessurun, who will introduce De Kort at Wednesday’s event, said the discussion provides an opportunity to examine resilience from a perspective that goes beyond simply recovering from hardship.
“For small island societies, resilience cannot only be about our ability to recover and return to what existed before. We also have to ask whether the systems we depend on continue to serve us and whether they allow us to adapt, grow and respond to new realities. The Conch Paradox gives us an opportunity to have that conversation within our own St. Martin context and, importantly, to involve our students in thinking critically about the future of their society.”
The addition of the book to the USM Library extends that conversation beyond Wednesday evening, allowing students and members of the University community to further engage with the ideas presented in De Kort’s work.
For USM, the event also reflects the University’s role as a space for research, dialogue and critical discussion on issues affecting St. Maarten and other small island communities.
Members of the public are invited to attend the discussion on Wednesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM at the University of St. Martin.
The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience draws on doctoral research on small island economies, the natural history of the queen conch, and the year the author’s family spent in Rotterdam during a medical crisis.
Rendell de Kort is an Aruban economist and PhD candidate at the University of Aruba and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Additional information about the book and where it is available can be found at theconchparadox.com.
Photo caption:
Aruban economist and author Rendell de Kort presents an inscribed copy of The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience to USM Librarian Stacey Thomas at the University of St. Martin on Monday, September 28, 2026.
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De Kort presented the book to Ms. Stacey Thomas, USM Librarian, on Monday, September 28. The copy is now available through the USM Library for students, faculty and staff to borrow.
The Conch Paradox takes its title from the queen conch and uses the shell as a metaphor for resilience. The conch develops a strong protective shell, but the very structure that provides protection can also become limiting. De Kort applies this idea to individuals, families and small island economies, asking when systems designed to provide stability and protection may begin to restrict adaptation and change.
The subject is particularly relevant to small island societies such as St. Maarten, where questions surrounding economic dependence, vulnerability, recovery and resilience continue to shape conversations about the island’s future. De Kort will return to USM on Wednesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM for a public talk and conversation at the University’s campus on Soualiga Road. Students from three USM courses, members of the United Women Book Club, and members of the wider community are expected to participate.
“St. Martin knows this chapter better than I do,” De Kort said. “Most of the economy comes in through one door, and in 2017 as well as during COVID everyone here saw what happens when that door shuts. I would rather spend Wednesday hearing how people here read it than reading it to them.”
USM Research Coordinator Raymond Jessurun, who will introduce De Kort at Wednesday’s event, said the discussion provides an opportunity to examine resilience from a perspective that goes beyond simply recovering from hardship.
“For small island societies, resilience cannot only be about our ability to recover and return to what existed before. We also have to ask whether the systems we depend on continue to serve us and whether they allow us to adapt, grow and respond to new realities. The Conch Paradox gives us an opportunity to have that conversation within our own St. Martin context and, importantly, to involve our students in thinking critically about the future of their society.”
The addition of the book to the USM Library extends that conversation beyond Wednesday evening, allowing students and members of the University community to further engage with the ideas presented in De Kort’s work.
For USM, the event also reflects the University’s role as a space for research, dialogue and critical discussion on issues affecting St. Maarten and other small island communities.
Members of the public are invited to attend the discussion on Wednesday, September 30, at 7:00 PM at the University of St. Martin.
About the Book
The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience draws on doctoral research on small island economies, the natural history of the queen conch, and the year the author’s family spent in Rotterdam during a medical crisis.
Rendell de Kort is an Aruban economist and PhD candidate at the University of Aruba and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Additional information about the book and where it is available can be found at theconchparadox.com.
Photo caption:
Aruban economist and author Rendell de Kort presents an inscribed copy of The Conch Paradox: Rethinking Resilience to USM Librarian Stacey Thomas at the University of St. Martin on Monday, September 28, 2026.
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