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Objective 1-Critical thinking on an issue of importance to the Caribbean

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Objective 1-Critical thinking on an issue of importance to the Caribbean

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The West Indies is made up of different islands, with different governments, languages and cultures. During the development of West Indian Cricket, cricket was seen as the only thing that brought West Indians together. For many, it was a platform for bonding, friendship and brotherhood against the Colonial powers. As stated in David Rudder’s Rally round the West Indies “In a divided world that don’t need island no more/Are we doomed forever to be at somebody’s mercy/Little keys can open up mighty doors/ Rally....rally round the West Indies”. This highlights the feeling that many West Indians had for their position and status in the world.

Examining the 2010 British documentary Fire in Babylon, the unity of the West Indian cricket team and what it meant for players to stand up against European (specifically British) cricketing society was highlighted. The experiences of the team could be compared to that of the ex slaves as its players faced racism and injustices that mirrored what occurred during slavery. Despite everything however, West Indian cricketers banded together to overcome and achieve great success for the region. Currently, the issues taking place within the West Indian Cricket Board surrounding contracts, the Board’s autonomy over players, payment disputes, the choice of some players to play only T20 matches vs test match cricket, all challenge the idea of unity which West Indian cricket seemed to symbolize.

The bottom line of these disputes is money, which in some ways can be perceived as simply a bid for wealth acquisition as they are purported to be playing for the highest bidder. But on the other hand there was a fight for equal rights by the players during the period of the development for West Indian cricket and today’s issues may be seen as a repeat of that past.

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David Rudder - Rally Rally Round the West Indies

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David Rudder - Rally Rally Round the West Indies

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RALLY ROUND THE WEST INDIES ~ DAVID RUDDER.

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RALLY ROUND THE WEST INDIES ~ DAVID RUDDER.

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Objective 2 - Understanding of social and Geographical environment

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Objective 2 - Understanding of social and Geographical environment

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The Geographical environment of the Caribbean was strongly influenced by our slave and colonial history. Names of Streets, Parks, Towns and Counties are all influenced by the European presence in our history. Until the year 2014, one of the main green spaces located on the outskirts of Port-of-Spain called King George V Park was renamed as the Nelson Mandela Park.

To some these historical names represent memories but to others they simply represent oppression and commemoration of the atrocities these individuals may have committed. Nelson Mandela is a key South African freedom fighter who battled for social justice for African people however; King George had a direct influence on the Caribbean as his involvement in the development of Commonwealth is more a part of our historical past. Other place names such as Picton St., Lventille are influenced by a European but have not been changed. Lord Thomas Picton, was documented as being arrested and charged with excessive cruelty and subsequent execution of slaves; a book was published about the incident and is kept on display in our National Museum. Many can argue that this should be a part of our history that should be removed but again others would say that descendants must know what happened to their ancestors.

There are also claims that the change was politically motivated. It can be assumed that various elements of today’s society also influence the desire for change. Politicians may see changing the names of places as them making their mark on the history of the nation or as a way to stand in solidarity with a grouping whose interest is to be gained.  Our diverse community always calls to question the motives for solidarity and also influences the perspective from which history is told.

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Objective 3 - Understanding a problem of regional importance as reflected in news and current affairs

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Objective 3 - Understanding a problem of regional importance as reflected in news and current affairs

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The desire for a single identity within the Caribbean has been pushed for by some leaders who saw it as a benefit for the region. Theorists like Benedict Anderson (1999) have argued that for an identity to be formed, and continue to develop, there must be a base of knowledge that the interest groups involved see to be important. This occurred through the introduction of CARICOM (Caribbean Community) which became a pillar for integration and single identity for many countries in the region.

This cooperation seeks to develop economic integration, foreign policy coordination, human and social development and security. However, while these pillars may have had good intentions, they led to many Caribbean citizens to feel disheartened by it. While economic integration seemed like an ideal move for the Caribbean it created issues for sovereignty as States’ ability to run their own affairs were affected. The development of the single market single economy introduced the idea of one currency throughout the Caribbean. Some nations however, stood to lose economically from this if their national currency was already strong in foreign exchange markets eg. Barbados, while others like Jamaica would have stood to benefit from a united currency as theirs was much weaker.

Single identity also brings about the thought of the people as one, which in the Caribbean’s case still has to take into consideration their variations in history, religion and ethnicity. But through CARICOM, xenophobic issues arose strongly contradicting the idea of singularity. From issues between Jamaica and Trinidad over port entry to the Dominican Republic and Haiti concerning its human rights issues, there is a break down in the desire for unity. These regional current affairs connect the historical theory of divide and conquer as throughout the European colonization and slavery but, it is up to each nation to allow itself to be either conquered or united.

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Objective 4 - Self Evaluation of learning

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Objective 4 - Self Evaluation of learning

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Throughout this course I have learnt that many things in our history are affected by the biased views of those who held the power at the time of its writing. Experiencing the new insights, analysis and discussion of the various events which shaped us as a region has given me a renewed appreciation for our history. As a teacher, I feel that I also learnt from my lecturer Mrs. Harry, not only the content but also a great teaching style. Mrs. Harry made many connections to the content, our society and everyday life; but especially her personal experiences. This made the lessons learnt most memorable.

It was an interesting classroom experience as there was constant discussion with inputs of different perspectives from students’ native to other islands. For instance, when discussing the resistance of the enslaved people, a student from St. Lucia gave us his first hand experience of the Garifuna People and another student from Jamaica spoke about the Maroon community. I thoroughly enjoyed the classroom experience as our discussions were always very engaging and challenged the basic ideas that we all would have come to the University with.

It was a challenge for me to come to class in the early stages of this term as I had already done this course a couple years ago for my first degree. However, I must say that this changed once I experienced the course with this year group and began to enjoy the manner in which the content was being imparted. I think that for future the course should continue to take a blended format providing students with face to face classes and the opportunity to interact with additional information through links, podcasts and websites. Nevertheless, I appreciate the effort that is taken to create awareness in all students that pass through the University of the West Indies of their region and the influence its history has on the lives of all its inhabitants.

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Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. Reflections on the Origin and Spread of

Nationalism. London: Verso. 1999.

Bagoo, Andre. “The King Is History.” Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 20th July 2014,

http://newsday.co.tt/commentary/0,197915.html.

David Rudder. “Rally Rally Round the West Indies” Haiti, 1987, YouTube,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-MgkoLKMr0

Gollapudi, Nagraj. “Board and Players need to compromise- WICB President.”

ESPNcricinfo: ESPN, 5th April 2016,

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/story/995327.html. Accessed 5th July

2017.

Stevan Riley.“Fire in Babylon Movie 2010.” YouTube, uploaded by Char Rose, 21st

December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd3TzH21Yz8.