HIST 1976 Recreating the Caribbean: Migration and Identity in Contemporary Caribbean History (also ASRC 1976) (HST-AS, SCD-AS) (HGS)
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 11:15-12:05
Professor Judith Byfield
Waves of voluntary and forced migrants and their imposition on indigenous communities led to radically new societies in the Caribbean. Though popularized as tropical paradises, the Caribbean has one of the highest rates of emigration in the world. Revolutions, wars of independence and socio-economic and political marginalization has led to the formation of Caribbean diasporic communities in Central America, North America, Europe and Africa. These diasporic communities are also transnational spaces because emigrants retain important social, economic and political connections to their countries of origin. Drawing on specific case studies this course considers three interconnecting questions – What factors led to sustained emigration? Why did migrants’ settle in specific countries? How have Caribbean diasporic communities reshaped their natal communities and their new homes?
