THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

DEPARTMENT OF BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCESST AUGUSTINE

ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE PEOPLES OF THE CARIBBEAN I: (SOCI 2010)

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Summer: 2011

ASSESSMENT: Final Examination...................................100%

LECTURER: Mr. Valentine Smith

E-Mail: ya1242( hotmail.com

Lecture: Thursday 5pm-8pm

VENUE: TCB rooms: 2&3

The course comprises on one (1) three hour lecture and one (1) two hour tutorial per week. Students are required to answer any three (3) questions in the final exam.

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SCHEDULE OF LECTURE TOPICS

Week 1 May 19

· The Nature and Scope of Anthropology,· Applications of Anthropology· The Concept of Culture

Week 2 May 26

· Theoretical Approaches Used in Anthropology,· Research Methods in Anthropology

Week 3 June 2

· Human Societies and the Evolution of Culture· Human Production and Consumption in various cultures· Defining the Caribbean

Week 4 June 9· Theories of Caribbean Society

(i) Plural Society(ii) Creole Society(iii) Plantation Society

Week 5 June 16· Ethnic Groups in the Caribbean I (Africa in the Caribbean)

Week 6 June 23

· Ethnic Groups in the Caribbean I (India in the Caribbean)

Week 7 June 30

Ethnic Groups in the Caribbean I (Other)

Week 8 July 7

· Review

Main texts:Nanda, S. and Warms, R.L. Cultural Anthropology, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998.

Scupin, Raymond. 2005. Cultural anthropology: a global perspective. Sixth edition. New Jersey: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

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TOPICS 1 — 2

Questions:

(a) What is Anthropology and how is it relevant to the study of the

Caribbean?

(a) What are its methods?

(b) What insights does it hold?

(c) What limitations does it have?

(d) What is Culture?

(e) What is Cultural Evolution, Ethnocentrism, Cultural Relativism?

(g) How can we think about Culture in a globalising world— can there ever be"pure" cultures"?

Readin2s:

Nanda, S. and Warms, R.L. Cultural Anthropology, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998.Chs.1,2,3,5,15 &16

Websites: http://anthropology.wadsworth.com & http://www.thompson.com/wadsworth.html

Scupin, Raymond. 2005. Cultural anthropology: a global perspective. Sixth edition. New Jersey: Pearson-Prentice Hall.

La Guerre, J., Politics , Society and Culture in the Commonwealth Caribbean., UWI, St Augustine, School of Continuing Studies, 1999.

Premdas, R. Identity, Ethnicity and Caribbean Culture, UWI, St Augustine, School of Continuing Studies, 2000.

Mintz, S. and Price, S. Caribbean Contours, Baltimore : John Hopkins University Press, 1982. F2169 C365

Horowitz, M. Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean, New York: Natural History Press, 1971. F1602 H816 P4

Herskovits, M. (ed). Cultural Relativism: Perspectives in Cultural Relativism GN405 H572 C9

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TOPIC 3

Defining the Caribbean

Questions:

(a) Explain the difficulties encountered in defining the Caribbean.

(a)Do you consider the Caribbean to be a

Culture Area? (c) How do you explain its

cultural heterogeneity?

Readinzs:

Horowitz, M. Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean, New York: Natural History Press, 1971. F1602 H816 P4

Mintz, S. and Price, S. Caribbean Contours, Baltimore : John Hopkins University Press, 1982. F2169 C365

Craig, S. Contemporary Caribbean. Vols. I and II.

Thomas Hope, E. Perspectives in Caribbean Regional Identity.Lewis, Gordon. 2004. The growth of the modern West Indies. Kingston,

Jamaica: Ian Randle Press. Originally published 1968

Wood, Donald. Trinidad in transition: the years after slavery. London: Oxford University Press.

Brereton, Bridget. 1979. Race relations in colonial Trinidad: 1870-1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

TOPIC 4 a

PLURAL SOCIETY

One of the most influential theories of Caribbean societies has been the Plural Thesis forwarded by M.G. Smith. Originally an anthropological concept developed in Jamaica, it has found its way into Sociology, Political Science, History and other disciplines around the world.

Questions:

(a) What is the Plural Thesis? 4

(b) What are Cultural Institutions, Cultural Segments?

(c) Do you think it provides a good framework for analyzing

Caribbean societies? Related Readings:

Smith, M.G. The Plural Society in the British West Indies. Jamaica:

Sangster's Bookstore, 1974. HN192 S655 P7

Rubin, V. (ed). Social and Cultural Pluralism in the Caribbean. HN192 R896

S6

Craig, Susan. 1981. "Sociological Theorizing in the English Speaking Caribbean: A Review." Contemporary Caribbean: A Sociological Reader. Vol II Ed. by Susan Craig.

________. 1992. "Intertwining Roots.

Sankatsingh, G. Caribbean Social Science: An Assessment.

T O P I C 4 b

CREOLE SOCIETY

A competing view of Caribbean society stresses the process of creolisation, acculturation and interculturation. It looks at the creation of an entirely new society and critiques the relatively static view of the Plural Thesis.

Questions:

(a) What is the Creole society model?

(b) How does it differ from the Plural Thesis?

(c) What is acculturation and how does it differ from

interculturation?

(d) What are the model's strengths and weaknesses?

Related Readings:

Braithwaite, E. Contradictory Omens: Cultural Diversity and

Integration in the Caribbean. F1609.5 B824 C7

The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica 1770-

1820. F1884 B7 5

James, C.L.R. "The Making of the Caribbean People.' In Spheres of Existence:

Selected Writings. AC8 J27 S7

Craig, S. Contemporary Caribbean. Vol. II.

TOPIC 5

AFRO-CARIBBEAN STUDIES

The majority of peoples in most Caribbean territories come from largely African backgrounds, although Caribbean territories for most of their history have been colonies of Europe. The question of the place of African cultures in Caribbean life has therefore been an important concern.

Questions:

(a) What are the different ways scholars have conceptualized the links between Africa and the Caribbean?

(a) Do "Africanisms" exist in Caribbean societies?

(b) Why are they important?

(b) How did European cultures affect

African cultures? Related Readinks:

Alleyne, M. The Roots of Jamaican Culture. F1874 A462 1988

Mintz, S. and Richard, P. An Anthropological Approach to the Afro-American Past: A Caribbean Perspective. F2191 B55 M667 A6

Colby, A.G. and Thompson, A. (eds). The African-Caribbean connection: Historical and Cultural Perspectives. F2169 A39

Herskovits, M. Life in a Haitian Valley. F1927 H4

-------------------- Trinidad Village. F2121 H41

-------------------- The Myth of the Negro Past. HT1581 H4

Knight, F. and Crahan, M. (eds). Africa and the Caribbean: Legacies of a Link. F219 A37

Elder, J.D. Africans Survivals in Trinidad and Tobago. HN246 A8 E43

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TOPICS 6

INDO-CARIBBEAN STUDIES

Where they are not a majority ethnic group, peoples descended from the Indian subcontinent make up a significant minority in the Caribbean — often considered outside of the mainstream..

Questions:

(a) What are the different ways that scholars have conceptualized Indians in relation to Caribbean societies?

(b) Are they a separate group?(c) Do they share the culture of other groups in society?

Related Readings:

Klass, M. East Indians in Trinidad: A Study of Cultural Persistence. F2121 K6

Vertovec, S.A. Hindu Trinidad: Religion, Ethnicity and Socio-Economic Change. London: Mac Millan Educational Ltd. 1992

Vertovec, Steven. 1991. -East Indians and Anthropologists." Social and Economic Studies, vol. 40, no. 1, pp133-169.

La Guerre, J. From Calcutta to Caroni. F2121 L181 Cl

Dookeran, W. and Brereton, B. East Indians In the Caribbean. F1629

E13 13 Dabydeen, D. and Samaroo, B. (eds). India in the Caribbean.

F1629 El 139 C2

(eds). Across the Dark Waters: Ethnicity and IndianIdentity in the Caribbean. F1629 E17 A28

Gosine, M. The East Indian Odyssey: Dilemmas of a Migrant People. F2191 E27

F681 Clarke, C. East Indians in a West Indian Town: San Fernando 1930-1970.

HN246 S36 C58

Singh, Simboonath. 1995. "Cultural Reconstruction in the Canadian Indian Diaspora: A Newly Emerging 'Indian' Ethno-Religious Identity in the 1ndo-Caribbean Hindu Community in Toronto." Conference on Indians in the Diaspora. St. Augustine.

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TOPIC 7

OTHER CARIBBEAN PEOPLES

Especially in Trinidad and Tobago, the ethnic discourse has overwhelmingly concentrated on Africans and Indians. As any West Indian knows, there are many other ethnic groups in the Caribbean as well, including the Chinese, Syrians, Spanish, English, French, Javanese, Portuguese and others.

Question:

How are we to conceptualize the relationship of any three of these ethnic groups to the wider Caribbean Society?

Related Readinzs:

Reddock, R. Ethnic Minorities in Caribbean Society, UWI, St Augustine,

ISER, 1996. Trinidad Ethnicity. Ed. by Kevin Yelvington. London: MacMillan.

Lowenthal, D. "Ethnic Minorities in West Indian Societies" West Indian Societies. Ch5, HN244 L917 W5

Johnson, H. (ed). After the Crossing: Immigrants and Minorities in Caribbean Creole Society. F2190 A38

Look Lai, W. Indentured Labour, Caribbean Sugar: Chinese and Indian

Migrant to the British West Indies 1838-1918. HD8039 S86

W475

Lee, R. Let Us Discover Ourselves: The Chinese Community of

Trinidad and Tobago.F2119 C4 L44

Millete, T.M. The Chinese in Trinidad.. Inprint Publication. 1993.

Ferriera, J. The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago: Portrait of an Ethnic

Minority.F2122 F37

Glick. L.B. "The Meaning of Ethnicity in the Caribbean." Ethnic Groups, vol. 6 no. 1.

Klass, M. 1985. "New Ethnicity, New Horizons." Ethnic Groups, vol. 1, no. 6.

M i n t z , S i d n e y a n d R i c h a r d P r i c e . 1 9 7 6 . A n A n t h r o p o l o g i c a l A p p r o a c h t o t h e A f r o - American Past: A Caribbean Perspective.

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