Jamaican Culture and Society Essay examples -- American History

Jamaican Culture and SocietyI. Introduction- Retracing the Remnants of ColonialismWhen discussing and analyzing contemporary Caribbean culture wizard must not fail to acknowledge the dreadful legacies of colonialism and imperialism. Contemporary Caribbean society, politics, and economics thinly veil the ramifications of a colonial and hegemonic past. Due to the remnants of colonial institutions such as slavery and the plantation system, the Caribbean has experienced a range of negative societal effects, namely the consolidation of a unifying cultural identity. The demise of colonialism in the Caribbean did not mark the end of social stratification based on racial and ethnic divisions. The prevailing racial distinctions and hierarchy that characterized colonialism via the institution of slavery have historically thwarted any systematic attempt to create a distinct theme cultural identity. Thus, this study of the Jamaican culture and society will easily relate racial ideologies and s ocial class structures in order to illustrate the dynamics of the Jamaican cultural identity crisis. II. The Emergence and Implications of a Social company SystemThe post-colonial period in the Caribbean posed the challenge of creating nation states with thriving societies that would meet the desires and destinies of their inhabitants. Jamaica, which recently attained its independence from Great Britain in 1962, was indeed no exception to this challenge. In fact, Jamaica, like many of its Caribbean counterparts, had an inordinate difficulty in creating and maintaining a strong, cohesive national sensibility (Knight, 307). The difficulty of creating a cohesive national identity initially emerged in the post-emancipation period in J... ...liography- Excerpts taken from Michelle Cliffs essay, If I Could Write This With Fire.Henriques, Fernando. Jamaica Land of Wood and Water. Maggibbon & Kee London. 1957Knight, Franklin. The Caribbean The Genesis of a disunited Nationalism. Oxford University Press New York, 1990.Lawson, Winston Arthur. Religion and Race African and European Roots in Conflict- A Jamaican Testament. Peter Lang Publishing New York, 1996. Morris, Mervyn. Making air jacket Indian Literature University of the West Indies 2013. Web 9 May 2015.http//scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1280&context=anthuriumNettleford, Rex. Caribbean ethnic Identity The case of Jamaica- An Essay in Cultural Dynamics. UCLA Publications Los Angeles.Nettleford, Rex. Identity, Race and Protest in Jamaica. William Morrow & Company New York, 1972.