Contemporary Caribbean Cultures and Societies in a Global Context - Paperback

by Franklin W. Knight (Editor), Teresita Martínez-Vergne (Editor)

The Caribbean ranks among the earliest and most completely globalized regions in the world. From the first moment Europeans set foot on the islands to the present, products, people, and ideas have made their way back and forth between the region and other parts of the globe with unequal but inexorable force. An inventory of some of these unprecedented multidirectional exchanges, this volume provides a measure of, as well as a model for, new scholarship on globalization in the region.

Ten essays by leading scholars in the field of Caribbean studies identify and illuminate important social and cultural aspects of the region as it seeks to maintain its own identity against the unrelenting pressures of globalization. These essays examine cultural phenomena in their creolized forms -- from sports and religion to music and drink -- as well as the Caribbean manifestations of more universal trends -- from racial inequality and feminist activism to indebtedness and economic uncertainty. Throughout, the volume points to the contending forces of homogeneity and differentiation that define globalization and highlights the growing agency of the Caribbean peoples in the modern world.


Contributors:
Antonio Benítez-Rojo (1931-2004)
Alex Dupuy, Wesleyan University
Juan Flores, City University of New York Graduate Center
Jorge L. Giovannetti, University of Puerto Rico
Aline Helg, University of Geneva
Franklin W. Knight, The Johns Hopkins University
Anthony P. Maingot, Florida International University
Teresita Martínez-Vergne, Macalester College
Helen McBain, Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean, Trinidad
Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Columbia University
Valentina Peguero, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Raquel Romberg, Temple University

Front Jacket

The Caribbean ranks among the first and most completely globalized regions in the world. The essays in this volume illuminate how Caribbean cultures help shape and are shaped by globalization. Chapters examine economies, creolization, sport, religion, women's organizations, race and politics, music, and rum.

Author Biography

Franklin W. Knight is Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University. He has written, edited, or coedited nine books, including The Modern Caribbean. Teresita Martínez-Vergne is professor of history at Macalester College. She is author of three other books, including Nation and Citizen in the Dominican Republic, 1880-1916.