Course Description & Objectives

The primary task of this course is to explore the concept of development in the unique context of the Caribbean Basin (including Central America).  Some countries in the region share characteristics typical among developing countries all over the world: they struggle to improve relatively miserable social conditions characterized by mass poverty, social instability, widespread unemployment, hunger, disease, and high death rates.  On the other hand, some have posted dramatic improvements in their living standards over recent decades.  Others offer a relatively high quality of life.  Efforts to comprehend such disparate development stories must consider two interrelated sets of factors: internal, national aspects of each country's unique development story; and external, international structures that thoroughly influence any given country's development prospects.  So, we must consider complex structural relationships within and between societies or regions, as they exist now and as they have existed in the past.

Our class also examines some primary themes: e.g., the status of women, and the eradication of poverty.  Such themes weave threads through the interrelated questions we address in our course.  Students from industrialized, "developed" countries may find the experiences of women in many “developing” countries quite different from their own, yet they should also recognize some common issues and challenges.  Some students will be also struck by the realities of extreme poverty found in the Caribbean Basin.  This poverty mostly affects women and their children.  Perhaps there never will be a consensus about how to best define development, but most scholars would agree that the growth or persistence of widespread poverty constitutes non-development.  Therefore, our class must seek to understand the causes and consequences of mass deprivation, especially if we wish to formulate some potential solutions.

A main objective of the course is to leave you with an informed sense of how people perceive the Caribbean and to raise your awareness of some unique challenges or obstacles facing nations today in the Caribbean Basin. You should leave with enough ideas, concepts, skills, and resources to recognize and understand major development issues.  Another objective is discovering how global trends, finally and specifically, affect the lives of individuals -- especially women and the poor.

The course is structured around some large questions, which we will consider using ideas presented or generated by our course materials, including those that you will choose to bring to our class.  It is better to see the course as an open, ongoing dialog, dynamic and circular, rather than a linear series of lectures about topics in some definite order.  The strength and value of the learning experience here, then, depends ultimately on how much you bring to it.

Course Requirements

Students’ grades will be based on class participation (30%), a term project in the form of a course presentation (30%), and a cumulative final exam (40%).  Given the importance of discussion and class interaction for this course, students are expected to participate actively in class.  This requires completing all reading and other assignments before our class is scheduled to use them and then being in class, on time.  The course presentation and much of the class participation will be accomplished in the form of team assignments.

Class attendance is expected.  We share responsibility for educating one another.  Please notify the instructor in advance as to any absences.  Excused absences are:  those required by varsity team members for events involving travel, accompanied by a note from the coach; those involving deaths in the immediate family or personal emergencies, which require a note from a Dean’s office; those for serious illness, with a note from the campus health center or an attending physician.

Course Texts & Readings

Rather than a standard textbook, our course relies on shorter, more focused readings on library reserve.  Whenever possible, readings also will be available on electronic reserve.  One resource we will use frequently is The New York Times (available on line: www.nytimes.com and LEXIS/NEXIS).

Grading

        A        exceptional effort, demonstrates mastery of the material

        B        commendable effort, shows adequate command of material

        C        unremarkable effort, rather weak use of material

        D        below average effort or use of materials

        F        inadequate effort or use of materials

Things Not Allowed in our Classroom Community

A bad attitude, petty or defensive comments, excuses involving computer failure, cell phones, pagers, other noisy electronic devices, anything compromising academic honesty.

Eight Questions

I’ve organized our course around some large questions about Caribbean development, but the goal is not to arrive at definite answers.  Instead, we seek to explore and discuss, critically, a range of responses, each with its own merits and problems.  While we will begin consideration of each question as they are ordered here, they are quite interrelated and you will be encouraged to return to previous questions again and again as we encounter issues that bring new information to bear.  Likewise, we may need to jump ahead in a discussion.  How much time we initially spend on each question will depend somewhat on class interaction.

Where is the Caribbean?

(If it’s a region, what are its boundaries?  New York and Miami, London and Paris?  Geography is history?)

Everyone read:

R. Grosfoguel & C. Georas, “Latino Caribbean Diasporas in New York,” Ch. 3 in Mambo Montage: The Latinization of New York, A. Lao-Montes & A. Davila (eds.) 2001

Some additional readings:

J. Conaway, Caribbean General Assembly (OAS General Assembly in Barbados, June 2-4, 2002) Americas, May-June 2002 v54 i3 p. 56

What is the Caribbean?

(Is it an economic entity?  A political entity?  Defined by whom?  What are the competing myths, perceptions, “realities”?  What is essential to Caribbean identity?  What is its uniqueness?)

Everyone read:

R. Allsopp, “Caribbean Identity and Belonging,” pp. 33-54 in Caribbean Cultural Identities, G. Griffith (ed.), 2001

Mahabir, Kumar, "Whose Nation is This? The Struggle over National and Ethnic Identity in Trinidad and Guyana," Caribbean Studies 29: 283‑302

J. Momsen, “The Double Paradox,” Ch. 3 in Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought, P. Mohammed (ed.)

Choose two:

M. Gaudet, “’Mardi Gras, Chic-a-la-Pie:’ Reasserting Creole Identity through Festive Play,” Journal of American Folklore, Spring 2001 v114 i452 p. 154

S. Paquet, “Poetic Autobiography: Derek Walcott’s Another Life,” Ch. 7 in Caribbean Autobiography: Cultural Identity and Self-Representation, S. Paquet, 2002

R. Wilk, “’Real Belizean food’: building local identity in the transnational Caribbean,” American Anthropologist, June 1999 v101 i2 p. 244

Kevin A. Yelvington, “Caribbean crucible: history, culture, and globalization,” Social Education, March 2000 v64 i2 p. 70

Some additional readings:

H. M. Erisman, “Cuba and the Caribbean Basin: from pariah to partner?” Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Spring 1998 v40 n1 p. 87

L. Luxner, “Barbados: the climate of success: this small Caribbean nation plans to lure a large sector of the tourism market, while opening opportunities for foreign investors,” Americas, May-June 2002 v54 i3 p. 36

S. Paquet, “Death and Sexuality: Jamaica Kincaid’s My Brother,” Ch. 12 in Caribbean Autobiography: Cultural Identity and Self-Representation, 2002

D. Robotham, “Blackening the Jamaican nation: the travails of a black bourgeoisie in a globalized world,” Identities, March 2000 v7 i1 p. 1

G. Rohlehr, “Calypso and Caribbean Identity,” pp. 55-72 in Caribbean Cultural Identities, G. Griffith (ed.), 2001

A. Xavier de Brito, “Brazilian Women in Exile: The Quest for an Identity,” Ch. 16 in Rereading Women in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Political Economy of Gender, J. Abbassi & S. Lutjens (eds.), 2002

Is the Caribbean developing?

          (By what measures and whose standards? What is development anyway?

What theories or models do we have to make sense of development?  In what ways is Caribbean development above average? Below average?)

Everyone read:

J. Elu, “The Journey So Far: The Affect of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Sustainable Growth, and Development in the Caribbean,” The Western Journal of Black Studies, Winter 2000, p. 202

E. Pantojas-Garcia, “Trade Liberalization and Peripheral Postindustrialization in the Caribbean,” Latin American Politics and Society Spring 2001 v43 i1 p. 57

D. Seers, "What are we Trying to Measure?" The Journal of Development Studies, 8: 21-36

Choose one:

D. Conway, “Microstates in a Macroworld,” Ch. 3 in Globalization and Neoliberalism: The Caribbean Context, T. Klak (ed.), 1998

D. Green, “Child workers of the Americas,” (Tough Times: Labor in the Americas) NACLA Report on the Americas, Jan-Feb 1999 v32 i4 p. 21

Some additional readings:

Holger Henke, “Jamaica's decision to pursue a neoliberal development strategy: realignments in the state-business-class triangle,” Latin American Perspectives, Sept 1999 p. 7

W. H. Griffith, “A tale of four CARICOM countries,” Journal of Economic Issues, March 2002 v36 i1 p. 79

J. Stark, “The Challenge of Change in Latin America and the Caribbean:  Development Amid Globalization in the 1990s,” Introduction in The Challenge of Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, J. Stark (ed.), 2001

What are the external forces that most affect the Caribbean potential for development?

(What is the legacy of colonialism?  How has the emergence of a global economy affected the Caribbean?  Is debt a serious problem?  Can and should countries borrow more money?  Don’t more international trade and aid help?)

Everyone read:

G. Dalley, “A Post-NAFTA US Trade Policy for the Caribbean,” Ch. 9 in The Repositioning of US-Caribbean Relations in the New World Order, R. Palmer (ed.), 1997

C. Ho, “Caribbean Transnationalism as a Gendered Process,” Latin American Perspectives 108, 26:5 (Sept., 1999), pp. 34-54

L. Medina, “The Impact of Free-Trade Initiatives on the Caribbean Basin: from Democracy to Efficiency in Belize, Latin American Perspectives, Winter 2000 v24 i4 p. 202

Choose one:

H. Frundt, “Cross-border organizing in the apparel industry: lessons from Central America and the Caribbean,” Labor Studies Journal, Spring 1999 v24 i1 p. 89

L. Raynolds, “Negotiating Contract Farming in the Dominican Republic,” Human Organization, Winter 2000 v59 i4 p. 441

R. Tarrago, “The thwarting of Cuban autonomy. (The U.S. and Cuba, An Ocean of Mischief),” ORBIS, Fall 1998 v42 n4 p. 517

Some additional readings:

Agra Europe, “EU finalises ACP 'trade and aid' deal,” Agra Europe, Feb 4, 2000 pEP/6

H. Henke, “Freedom ossified: political culture and the public use of history in Jamaica,” Identities, Sept 2001 v8 i3 p. 413

NACLA, “Haiti situation worsens, U.S. blocks aid release,” NACLA Report on the Americas, March 2002 v35 i5 p. 53

D. E. Parris, “The Re-exportation of the Caribbean Literary Artist,” Ch. 5 in Culture and Mass Communication in the Caribbean: Domination, Dialogue, Dispersion, H. Regis (ed.),  2001

C. Schoenberger, “The Panty Hose Wars,” (Caribbean free trade could hurt Israeli nylon exporter), Forbes, April 3, 2000 p. 64

Xinha, “U.S. Denies Economic Aid to Haiti,” Xinhua News Agency, Feb 7, 2002 p1008038h8728

What are primary factors available to Caribbean nations for developing the region?

(What role for tourism?  How about increasing exports?  What about education and human capital resources?  What could be done to encourage entrepreneurship?  How important are NGOs?)

Everyone read:

Susan Andreatta, “Transformation of the agro-food sector: lessons from the Caribbean,” Human Organization, Winter 1998 v57 i4 p. 414

J. Momsen, “Caribbean Tourism and Agriculture: New linkages in the Global Era?”  Ch. 6 in Globalization and Neoliberalism: The Caribbean Context, T. Klak (ed.), 1998

G.Valverde, “Democracy, Human Rights, and Development Assistance for Education: The USAID and World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Economic Development & Cultural Change, Jan 1999 v47 i2 p. 401

Choose two:

R. Mokhiber, “Corporate bullies: the 10 worst corporations of 1998,” Multinational Monitor, Dec 1998 v19 i12 p. 9

Noticen, “Carribean Heads of State Meet to Discuss Economic Integration, Tourism & the ‘War’ over Banana Quotas,” NotiCen: Central American & Caribbean Affairs, April 22, 1999

P. Pattullo, "Like an Alien in We Own Land," Ch. 4 in Last Resorts: the Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean, 1996

J. Sanchez Taylor, “Dollars Are a Girl's Best Friend? Female Tourists' Sexual Behaviour in the Caribbean,” Sociology, Aug. 2001 v35 i3 p. 749

Some additional readings:

E. Barriteau, “Women Entrepreneurs and Economic Marginality” Ch. 12 in Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought, P. Mohammed (ed.)

Dilly, Barbara, “Eco-tourism and Cultural Preservation in the Guyanese Rain Forest,” Ch. 7 in Globalization and the Rural Poor in Latin America

Katherine E. Browne, “Female entrepreneurship in the Caribbean: a multisite, pilot investigation of gender and work,” Human Organization, Winter 2001 v60 i4 p. 326

M. Hamilton, “The Availability and Suitability of Educational Opportunities for Jamaican Female Students," pp. 133‑143 in Gender: A Caribbean Multi‑Disciplinary Perspective, 1997

What is life like for Caribbean women?

(How much inequality is there?  Has the feminist movement brought some major changes?  How are women struggling to gain agency in the decisions that affect them?)

Everyone read:

P. Aymer, Ch. 1, pp. 1-10, Chs. 6 & 8, in Uprooted Women: Migrant Workers in the Caribbean, 1997

P. Kelly, “The real profits of village banking,” Americas, Nov-Dec 1996 v48 n6 p. 38

B. Mullings, “Globalization, Tourism, and the International Sex Trade,” Ch. 3 in Sun, Sex, and Gold: Tourism and Sex Work in the Caribbean, K. Kempadoo (ed.), 1999

Choose two:

S. LaFont, “Gender Wars in Jamaica,” Identities, June 2000 v7 i2 p.233

L. Raynolds, “Harnessing women's work: restructuring agricultural and industrial labor forces in the Dominican Republic,” Economic Geography, April 1998 v74 n2 p. 149

K. Lindsay, “Is the Caribbean Male an Endangered Species?” Ch. 4 in Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought, P. Mohammed (ed.)

C. Mahabir, “The rise of calypso feminism: gender and musical politics in the calypso,” Popular Music, Oct 2001 v20 i3 p. 409

T. Reynolds, “Black mothering, paid work and identity,” Ethnic and Racial Studies, Nov 2001 v24 i6 p1046

A. Trotz, “Gender, Ethnicity and Familial Ideology in Georgetown, Guyana: Household Structure and Female Labour Force Participation Reconsidered,” Ch. 13 in Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought, P. Mohammed (ed.)

Some additional readings:

C. Freeman, Ch. 1 & Ch. 2, pp.21-36, in High-Tech and High Heels in the Global Economy: Women, Work, and Pink-Collar Identities in the Caribbean, 2000

L. Lewis, “Envisioning a Politics of Change within Caribbean Gender Relations,” Ch. 29 in Gendered Realities: Essays in Caribbean Feminist Thought, P. Mohammed (ed.)

K. Kempadoo, “Freelancers, temporary wives, and beach boys: researching sex work in the Caribbean,” Feminist Review, Spring 2001 i67 p. 39

H. Safa, “Gender and Industrialization in the Caribbean Basin,” Ch. 1 in The Myth of the Male Breadwinner, 1995

How much poverty is there in the Caribbean?

(How widespread is poverty?  How does poverty here compare to that of other developing countries?  To what extent are there differences among ethnic or racial lines?)

Everyone read:

Y. Cabannes, “Poor, or excluded? Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean,” UN Chronicle, March-May 2001 v38 i1 p. 44

J. Gafar, “Poverty: Measures, Dimensions, and Some Strategies for Poverty Reduction in the Caribbean,” Ch. 3 in Politics and Economics of Latin America, F. Columbus (ed.) 2002

D. Griffith, “Social Capital And Economic Apartheid Along The Coasts Of The Americas,” Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, Fall 2000 v29 i3 p. 255

Choose one:

J. Gafar “Growth, inequality and poverty in selected Caribbean and Latin American countries, with emphasis on Guyana,” Journal of Latin American Studies, Oct 1998 v30 i3 p. 591

T. Klak, “Obstacles to Low-Income Housing Assistance in the Capitalist Periphery:  The Case of Jamaica,” Ch. 6 in Self-Help Housing, The Poor, and the State in the Caribbean, R. Potter & D. Conway (eds.), 1997

D. Leipziger, “The Unfinished Poverty Agenda: Why Latin America and the Caribbean Lag Behind,” Finance & Development, March 2001 v38 i1 p. 38

Some additional readings:

D. Malcolm, “’It's not cricket': colonial legacies and contemporary inequalities,” Journal of Historical Sociology, Sept 2001 v14 i3 p. 253

What are some likely prospects for the Caribbean?

(In the near future, what is likely to improve?  To get worse?  What is likely to remain unchanged?)

Everyone read:

K. Brown, “Innovations for conservation and development,” The Geographical Journal, March 2002 v168 i1 p. 6

J. Copes &  W. Rybeck, “Jamaica and Other Caribbean States” (economic aspects of the area's land use), The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Dec 2000 v59 i5 p. 111

A. Pellegrino, “Trends in international migration in Latin America and the Caribbean,” International Social Science Journal, Sept 2000 p. 252

Choose two:

M. Conde, “O brave new world,” Research in African Literatures, Fall 1998 v29 n3 p. 1

W. H. Griffith, “Trade Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean: Priorities, Progress, and Prospects,” Journal of Developing Areas, Summer 1998 v32 i4 p. 549

M. Hampton & M. Levi, “ Fast spinning into oblivion? Recent developments in money-laundering in policies and offshore finance centers,” Third World Quarterly, June 1999 v20 i3 p. 645

P.  McEvoy, “Caribbean Crossroads. (AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean), The Washington Quarterly, Wntr 2001 p227

Greenpeace, “Caribbean blues: finding a safe place for whales,” Greenpeace (Washington, D.C.), Summer 2001 v6 i2 p. 10

A. Moss “Toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas: Progress and Prospects,” Ch. 4 in The Challenge of Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, J. Stark (ed.), 2001

Some additional readings:

T. Klak & D. Conway, “From Neoliberalism to Sustainable Development?”  Ch. 12 in Globalization and Neoliberalism: The Caribbean Context, T. Klak (ed.), 1998

L. Luxner, “CARICOM: 25 YEARS OF A UNITED CARIBBEAN VOICE,” Americas, Feb 1999 v51 i1 p. 56

Bill Maurer, “Islands in the net: rewiring technological and financial circuits in the "offshore" Caribbean,” Comparative Studies in Society and History, July 2001 v43 i3 p. 467

P. Mohammed. “The future of feminism in the Caribbean. (Feminism 2000: One Step Beyond?)” Feminist Review, Spring 2000 i64 p.116

J. Rosenberg & F.L. Korsmo, “Local participation, international politics, and the environment: The World Bank and the Grenada Dove,” Journal of Environmental Management, July 2001 v62 i3 p. 283

E. Silva “Lessons on Sustainable Development from Costa Rica’s Forests,” Ch. 6 in The Challenge of Change in Latin America and the Caribbean, J. Stark (ed.), 2001

P. Sutton, “Caribbean politics: a matter of diversity,” Social Education, March 2000 v64 i2 p. 78