Readings in Caribbean History and Culture

Breaking Ground

D.A. Dunkley - Contributions by Dalea Bean; Eldon V. Birthwright; Trevor Burnard; D A. Dunkley; Dennis Gill; Claudia Hucke; Coreen J. Leacock; Russell Lord; Michael Niblett; Raymond Ramcharitar; Shivani Sivagurunathan; Benita P. Thompson and S Joel Warrican

This collection of eleven essays is designed to highlight some important new voices who have been doing research on the general subject areas of the history and culture of the Caribbean. The essays in this volume also address a number of themes which are critical to developing an understanding of current scholarly work on the two broad subject areas. Among the themes examined are colonialism, slavery, and the involvement of the Christian Church in both colonial rule and enslavement. The essays also analyze the pre-independence and post-independence periods of the twentieth century, with examinations on topics that include prostitution, departmentalization, education, visual art, and the musical form known as Reggae. The purpose of this book is to stimulate discussion around these important topics based on the perspectives of a number of new scholars. The book is also designed as a teaching device, principally for courses focusing on Caribbean society, whether in the past or the present.

Lexington Books

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-6846-2 • Hardback • December 2011 • $150.00 • (£115.00)

978-0-7391-6847-9 • eBook • December 2011 • $142.50 • (£110.00)

Subjects: History / Latin America / Central America, History / Latin America / General, History / Caribbean & West Indies / General, Political Science / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism

Readings in Caribbean History and Culture

Breaking Ground

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This collection of eleven essays is designed to highlight some important new voices who have been doing research on the general subject areas of the history and culture of the Caribbean. The essays in this volume also address a number of themes which are critical to developing an understanding of current scholarly work on the two broad subject areas. Among the themes examined are colonialism, slavery, and the involvement of the Christian Church in both colonial rule and enslavement. The essays also analyze the pre-independence and post-independence periods of the twentieth century, with examinations on topics that include prostitution, departmentalization, education, visual art, and the musical form known as Reggae. The purpose of this book is to stimulate discussion around these important topics based on the perspectives of a number of new scholars. The book is also designed as a teaching device, principally for courses focusing on Caribbean society, whether in the past or the present.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 324 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9½

978-0-7391-6846-2 • Hardback • December 2011 • $150.00 • (£115.00)

978-0-7391-6847-9 • eBook • December 2011 • $142.50 • (£110.00)

Subjects: History / Latin America / Central America, History / Latin America / General, History / Caribbean & West Indies / General, Political Science / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction
Part 3 Part I: History
Chapter 4 Chapter 1. Underground History: The Persistent, Un-heroic Past
Chapter 5 Chapter 2. Slave Instruction by the Anglican Church and the Transformation of Slavery
Chapter 6 Chapter 3. Education for the Future: Shaking off the Shackles of Colonial Times
Chapter 7 Chapter 4. The Life of Rev. George Wilson Bridges: The Jamaican Experience
Chapter 8 Chapter 5. "Faithful Delineations": Rev. George Wilson Bridges and Photography
Chapter 9 Chapter 6. Vectors of Venereal Diseases: The Perceived Threat of Prostitutes to Military Efficiency in Jamaica during World Wars I and II
Part 10 Part II: Culture
Chapter 11 Chapter 7. The Manioc and the Made-in-France: Reconsidering Creolization and Commodity Fetishism in Caribbean Literature and Theory
Chapter 12 Chapter 8. West Indian Plays and Caribbean Masculinity: An Assessment of Black Jacobins, Ti Jean and his Brothers, Pantomime, and Moon on a Rainbow Shawl
Chapter 13 Chapter 9. A "Coolitudian" Caribbean Text: The Trajectory of Renewal in David Dabydeen's Our Lady of Demerara
Chapter 14 Chapter 10. Beyond the National: Cross-Culturalism in the Art of the Jamaican Painter Karl Parboosingh
Chapter 15 Chapter 11. Reggae as a Rastafari Poetic of Disenchantment

Reviews

Interdisciplinary work is the future of academic studies on the Caribbean. This collection of eleven essays, mostly written by early-stage scholars, makes a fine contribution to the interdisciplinary enterprise, dealing with topics as diverse as slavery, proslavery and colonialism, religion and education, music, visual art, literature, and masculinity. It is an exciting, unconventional and controversial read. It should serve as a valuable teaching tool.
— David Dabydeen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Guyana