Women And Change In The Caribbean

Recent discussion of postmodern culture describes a movement from center to periphery, privileging cultures that were formerly marginalized. Women and Change in the Caribbean, a study of women marginalized by both gender and race in a region such as the Caribbean—itself marginalized in global terms—attempts to extract insights relevant both within and beyond geographical confines. This volume offers a feminist interpretation of a multicultural society emerging from colonialism and in the process of change and restructuring. The nineteen chapters include case studies of fifteen different Caribbean territories including Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Grenada, and Guyana. The book is divided into two sections: the first looks at women's status and gender relations in the private and public spheres; the second looks at women's economic activity. Taking a broad pan-Caribbean comparative view contributors discuss territories with American, British, Dutch, Danish, French, and Spanish colonial traditions and current political links. The contributors come from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including agriculture, anthropology, economics, geography, history, sociology, and women's studies.

A collection of essays by a number of outstanding women of the Caribbean on the situation of women in the region, in the period since the Beijing Conference of 1995. Examining a range of issues including education, poverty, decision-making, and violence, the authors expose continuing burdens and disadvantages faced by women.

"This volume builds on and extends current discussions of the construction of gendered identities and the networks through which men and women engage diaspora. It considers the movement of people and ideas between the Caribbean and the Nigerian hinterland. The contributions examine Africa in the Caribbean imaginary, the way in which gender ideologies inform Caribbean men's and women's theoretical or real-life engagement with the continent, and the interactions and experiences of Caribbean travelers in Africa and Europe. The contributions are linked as well through empire, discussing different parts of the British Empire and allowing for the comparative examination of colonial policies and practices."--Back cover.

This volume represents more than just a collection of chapters and bibliographic sources. For us, it provides another example of collective solidarity, hard work, and a relentless commitment to contribute to the process of advancing and transforming knowledge about women's condition. It attempts to update and assess how scholarship on women has impacted different disciplines and fields and examines the multivariate conditions and responses to immediate and long-term realities generated by women from different LatinAmerican and Caribbean countries. The editors hope that this publication, modest as it may be, will be a useful tool to other researchers, educators, and students in their efforts at pursuing and expanding the knowledge and visions that will make our different societies more just and liberating for all their citizens.

Contains 23 papers originally published in 1988 which discuss, inter alia, interdisciplinary research on models and theories of gender and development, historical perspectives of feminism, ideology and culture, and women's organization.

Extrait de la couverture :"The Caribbean has undergone profound changes over the past generation, not least in the social position of women. This new volume [...] looks back over what has been achieved in the past 20 years, and foward to the issues and challenges still facing Caribbean men and women as their mutual relations continue to evolve in the context of changing development policies, the increasing incidence of poverty, and a population deeply affected by migration and ageing. [The author] [...] provides a wealth of information on the changing position of women in the region. She identifies Caribbean women's concerns, problems, and needs. She documents the shift to a new stress on gender equity and gender equality. More recent awareness of specific problems faced by Caribbean men also discussed. And thoughout she describes concrete advocacy, research, education and training, as well as legal reform programmes set up in order to transform gender relations. The result is an agenda-setting volume which will be invaluable for gender programmes and policymaking in the coming years."