Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies
The Centre for Caribbean Studies was established in October 1984 with assistance from the Leverhulme Trust and the Nuffield Foundation. It was the first such Centre in the UK to recognise the significance of the Caribbean region and its historically interdependent linkages with the UK and the world. Its principal aim is to stimulate teaching and research on the Caribbean. It also encourages the study of the Caribbean in an Atlantic context, emphasising African, North and South American, Asian and European influences from a comparative, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective. Additionally, it serves as a national forum for individuals and organisations with an interest in and concern for the diaspora as well as those countries bordering the Caribbean.
In 2010 on its 25th anniversary, the Centre was re-named the Yesu Persaud Link opens in a new windowCentre for Caribbean Studies in honour of the Guyanese philanthropist and businessman and in recognition of his long association with and support for the Centre, which has grown to become one of Europe’s leading institutions for Caribbean scholarship.
The current director of the Centre is Professor Ben Richardson.Link opens in a new window
Latest News
The Ameena Gafoor Annual Lecture 2024
‘Cheddi Jagan: Developmentalist and Political Visionary’
by H. E. Hon President Donald Ramotar
This in-person event will be held on
Wednesday 22nd May, 5.15pm in Room S0.19, Social Sciences Building
University of Warwick main campus
Donald Ramotar served as President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana from 2011 to 2015. He began his political career as a member of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and in 1992 was elected to the National Assembly, retaining his parliamentary seat until his Presidency. From 1997 to 2013 he also served as General Secretary of the PPP. In this lecture he will talk about the life and legacy of Cheddi Jagan, co-founder of the PPP who fought for independence from the British empire and served as President of Guyana from 1992 until his death in 1997.
Free to attend. A drinks reception will be held afterwards.
Annual Walter Rodney Lecture, 2024
This annual lecture for 2023-24 was held in March 2024. Dr Fabienne Kanor, writer, filmmaker and Associate Professor at Penn State University gave a lively and compelling talk: Towards a Resetting of the “Passage”: Identifying Black Bodies in the Colonial Archives
Dr. Kanor is a Marian Trygve Freed Early Career Professor and an Associate-Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Pennsylvania State University. An award-winning writer and filmmaker, she has directed several movies and published 9 books, including among others Je ne suis pas un homme qui pleure (2016), Louisiane (2020), La poétique de la cale: variations sur le bateau négrier (October 2022), a monograph examining the way the experience of the Middle Passage is represented in contemporary literary, cinematographic and artistic productions.
Photo credit: Dr Joanne Norcup
For further details of this event, please see:
The Walter Rodney Lecture (warwick.ac.uk)
Recent Talks
For a recording of a recent talk by Dr Steve Puig, please see this link