Before the Volcano:Reverberations of Identity on Montserrat

Abstract

How is identity claimed, contested and sustained? This book looks at retentions, reconstructions and reverberations of identity in a colonial Caribbean setting. It is an ‘uncomfortable’ and ‘impressionistic’ ethnography of life on the island of Montserrat leading up to and including the present day volcanic eruptions. It explores Montserrat’s existing colonial identity and emerging postcolonial identity drawing upon examples from local poets, calypsonians and historians; controversial development and trade union struggles; and the impact of tourism and colonialism on the island – Black Irish identity claims and the celebration and/or commemoration of St. Patrick’s Day in particular. This book will appeal to Anthropologists, Sociologists, and Cultural Studies and Caribbean Studies scholars, as well as those involved in and concerned for the reconstruction of Montserrat the place and Mons’rat the people.

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