Contemporary Caribbean Cultures and Societies in a Global Context

Description

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 Benitez-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 Martinez-Vergne, Macalester College Helen McBain, Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean, Trinidad Frances Negron-Muntaner, Columbia University Valentina Peguero, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Raquel Romberg, Temple University Contents Acknowledgments 1 Introduction PART I. THE ECONOMICS OF GLOBALIZATION 2 Challenges to Caribbean Economies in the Era of Globalization 3 Globalization, the World Bank, and the Haitian Economy PART II. DIASPORAS IN A GLOBAL WORLD 4 Creolization in Havana: The Oldest Form of Globalization 5 Showing Face: Boxing and Nation Building in Contemporary Puerto Rico 6 Creolité in the Hood: Diaspora as Source and Challenge 7 Glocal Spirituality: Consumerism and Heritage in a Puerto Rican Afro-Latin Folk Religion PART III. GLOBAL FORCES IN LOCAL POLITICS 8 Women’s Grass-Roots Organizations in the Dominican Republic: Real and Imagined Female Figures 9 Race and Politics in Cuba PART IV. GLOBAL MARKETS FOR LOCAL PRODUCTS 10 Jamaican Reggae and the Articulation of Social and Historical Consciousness in Musical Discourse 11 Rum, Revolution, and Globalization: Past, Present, and Future of a Caribbean Product Bibliography Contributors Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z