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Author Patterson, Orlando, 1940- author.

Title The confounding island : Jamaica and the postcolonial predicament / Orlando Patterson.

Publication Info. Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press 2019.
©2019

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Non Fiction  306.0972 PATTERSON    Check Shelf
Description x, 409 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-388) and index.
Contents Part I. Explaining postcolonial failure: Why has Jamaica trailed Barbados on the path to sustained growth? -- The role of institutions, colonialism, and cultural appropriation -- Why is democratic Jamaica so violent? -- Revisiting the "democratic peace" thesis -- Were female workers preferred in Jamaica's early economic development? -- Employment, urbanization, and gender among the postcolonial proletariat -- Part II. Three Cultural Puzzles: Why are Jamaicans the fastest runners in the world? -- The institutionalization of athletic prowess -- Why did postcolonial Jamaicans riot at a cricket match against Britain? -- The ritual of cricket in West Indian societies -- Why does globalization not produce cultural homogenization? -- The example of Jamaican reggae music -- Part III. The failures of policy and politicians: why do policies to help the urban poor so often fail? -- A Jamaican case study -- Sad about Manley -- Portrait of a flawed charisma.
Summary "Orlando Patterson returns to Jamaica, his birthplace, to reckon with its history and culture. Locals claim to be some of the world's happiest people, and their successes in music and athletics are legendary. Yet the country remains violent and poor. In Jamaica the dilemmas of globalization and postcolonial politics are thrown into stark relief"-- Provided by publisher.
Subject Postcolonialism -- Jamaica.
Nationalism and sports -- Jamaica.
Reggae music -- Jamaica.
Urban poor -- Jamaica.
Jamaica -- Social conditions.
Jamaica -- Economic conditions.
Economic history. (OCoLC)fst00901974
Nationalism and sports. (OCoLC)fst01033894
Postcolonialism. (OCoLC)fst01073032
Reggae music. (OCoLC)fst01093058
Social conditions. (OCoLC)fst01919811
Urban poor. (OCoLC)fst01162512
Jamaica. (OCoLC)fst01211575
HISTORY / Social History.
ISBN 9780674988057 (hardcover)
0674988051 (hardcover)
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