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This interdisciplinary study examines the cultural and historical significance of the Jamaican Anansi folktales.

Anansi the spider is the trickster folk hero West African slaves transported to the Caribbean, who symbolises key aspects of Afro-Caribbean culture and is celebrated as a vital link with an African past. Anansi stories, in which the small spider turns the tables on his powerful enemies through cunning and trickery, are now told and published worldwide.

Anansi survived a cultural metamorphosis and came to symbolise the resistance of the Jamaican people. This original book examines Anansis roots in Ghana, details the changes Anansi underwent during the Middle Passage and his potential for inspiring tactics of resistance in a plantation context, and analyses Anansis role in postcolonial Jamaica, illustrating how he is interpreted as a symbol of individualism and celebrated as an emblem of resistance.

With its broad historical sweep, tracing Anansi from Ghana through to his contested position in contemporary Jamaica, this book makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate about whether the slave trade transmitted or destroyed the culture of the enslaved.

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Claude McKay remains one of the most influential intellectuals of the African Diaspora. Best remembered for his extraordinary poetry, his achievement in verse has been widely analyzed and praised. Yet in the welter of discussion about McKay, little has been said about his early writing in Jamaican. Two collections from the period, Songs of Jamaica and Constab Ballads, are more known about than known, and his poems for the Jamaican press, most of which have never been anthologized, are rarely studied.
In A Fierce Hatred of Injustice, Winston James elegantly redresses this omission. Through a subtle and detailed consideration of McKay's formative years on the island, James reviews the themes and politics of poetry which McKay began writing at the age of ten. Above all he focuses on the poet's pioneering use of Jamaican creole revealing the way in which this laid a foundation for subsequent work by writers such as Louise Bennett, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Michael Smith. The volume concludes with a comprehensive anthology of the early poems together with a comic sketch about Jamaican peasant life by McKay and an autobiographical essay on his experiences in the Kingston police force.

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Higher Education in the Caribbean assesses the role the University of the West Indies has played since its inception in providing tertiary education to the peoples of the Caribbean and evaluates the future of the institution as it enters the twenty-first century. The work is a significant contribution to the literature in this important area of Caribbean scholarship. The collection was written to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the University of the West Indies in 1998. Contributors address such complex issues as tertiary education in the light of the rapid advances in technology that characterized the last decades of the twentieth century, demands from the political directorate for more relevant course offerings, and the challenges of managing processes of institutional change.

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Fine sand, swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue lagoons, powder-puff clouds, and the gentle caress of the Trade Winds: the islands of the Caribbean are surely the last remaining paradise on earth. Wild mountains, impenetrable forests, shores that could still hide Robinson Crusoe; over the years tourism has left an increasing mark on the Greater and Lesser Antilles, but their distinctive charm and the appealing candour of their people remain intact.The attraction of these islands lies not only in their stunning natural beauty but in their unique history and culture. The brutal impact of European conquest on the lands of this 'New World' changed their indigenous face forever. The legacy of multiethnic settlement is evident in the Caribbean melting pot of today: every part of these islands is a piece of Europe transplanted in the tropics and subsequently infused with a strong dose of African traditions. As if by magic, these islands have succeeded in distilling the essence of Europe and mixing it with the exuberance of Africa and the voluptuous languor of the Tropics, and the effects of this intoxicating cocktail are seen in the impassioned, slightly run-down Spanish charm of Old Havana; evocative French chic in Martinique; the thoroughly Northern European taste of the pastel-painted houses of the Netherlands Antilles; and, the order and measured elegance of the former British colonies.

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This edited collection brings together the work of scholars in the field of Caribbean literary and linguistic study. Its genesis was the University of the West Indies 2011 commemorative conference in honour of recently retired professors Bridget Brereton, Barbara Lalla and Ian Robertson. This volume engages the seminal work done by Lalla and Robertson with focus on their contributions to theoretical constructs, original data collection and analysis, and the formation of a Caribbean-based ethos.

The rich deliberations demanded fuller development and preservation and Reassembling the Fragments answers that call. Part 1, Tributes and Critical Appraisals, engages the ground-breaking work of the eminent professors with a focus on originality, scope and impact on subsequent knowledge creation. Part 2 presents the contributions of scholars whose thought has been influenced by their incisive concepts, paradigms and methodologies.

The collection responds to the ongoing archaeological imperative of unearthing and reassembling fragments of voice and identity. It adds to the multigenerational project of naming and fashioning the diverse island cultures of the Caribbean and offers yet another shard of honour, duty and love.

Contributors: MarÌa Landa Buil, Niala Dwarika-Bhagat, Karen Eccles, Michelle Gill, Barbara Lalla, Nivedita Misra, Paula Morgan, Velma Pollard, Jennifer Rahim, Ian Robertson, Lise Winer, Donald Winford, Marsha Winter, Valerie Youssef

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A sophisticated comparative study of the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Grenadian revolutions, using techniques derived from J. S. Mill and perfected by Theda S. Skopol. Despite the unfulfilled promise of all three revolutions, they do suggest that people have the potential to make history and affect positive changes. Originally published by Macmillan Caribbean 1993, this classic contains a new preface by Anthony Maingot, Florida International University.

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Bricks and Stones from the Past"" is an informative, handsomely illustrated and skilfully written book of hard facts about Jamaica's rich geo-historical heritage. Weaving his way through many intricate branches of knowledge, including archaeology, building construction, chemistry and geology, the author embarks on a journey that takes him through the pages of history and across the island. He examines, analyses and describes the nature and origin and use of various lithic materials and objects, many of which played an important role in the development of the island up to the early part of the twentieth century. With a thorough glossary to assist readers in understanding many of the technical terms, the author records his observations and findings in seven easy-to-read and understand chapters. The numerous illustrations of assorted artefacts and ruins should prove of immense value to collectors, museums, libraries, researchers and schools. This much-needed, pioneering reference is an essential addition to the literature on Jamaica.

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