An Intellectual History of the Caribbean

The first intellectual history of the Caribbean written by a top Caribbean studies scholar. The book examines both the work of natives of the region as well as texts interpretive of the region produced by Western authors. Stressing the experimental and cultural particularity of the Caribbean, the study considers four major questions: What art, literature or thought can come from the minds of people who have undergone a catastrophic history? What makes the conceptual paradigms fashioned by the Western Intellectual industry capable of illuminating the distinct experience of Antilleans but not vice versa? Do Antilleans lack the mental endowments required for the interpretation of culture, theirs as well as others? Why cannot the specificity of Caribbean humanity accroach the paradigmatic flair to exemplify the drama of the entire species?