Examines the history, and possible futures, of radical politics in the postcolonial Caribbean
Across the Anglophone Caribbean, the great expectations of independence were never met. From Black Power and Jamaican Democratic Socialism to the Grenada Revolution, the radical currents that once animated the region recede into memory. More than half a century later, the likelihood of radical change appears vanishingly small on the horizon. But what were the twists and turns in the postcolonial journey that brought us here? And is there hope yet for the Caribbean to advance towards more just, democratic, and empowering futures?
After the Postcolonial Caribbean is structured into two parts. In 'Remembering', Brian Meeks employs an autobiographical form, drawing on his own memories and experiences of the radical politics and culture of the Caribbean in the decades following the end of colonialism. In 'Imagining' he takes inspiration from the likes of Edna Manley, George Lamming, and Stuart Hall in reaching toward a new theoretical framework that might help forge new currents of intellectual and political resistance.
Meeks concludes by making the case for reestablishing optimism as a necessary cornerstone for any reemergent progressive movement.
Examines the history, and possible futures, of radical politics in the postcolonial Caribbean
'Brian Meek's
After the Postcolonial Caribbeanis a clarion call. He reminds us that only a state, understood as a fully democratized postsecular deity of our collective making, can save us. 'After the Postcolonial Caribbean' is exemplary C.L.R. James's grounded creative universality at its best.'
Francio Guadeloupe, University of Amsterdam and Royal Netherlands Institute for Southeast Asian & Caribbean studies'Brian Meeks presents us with a challenge, the daunting task of imagining and creating a world beyol3x
