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 Centre 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 Dr Fabienne Viala (Hispanic Studies)
Announcements
It is with great sadness that we learnt that Dr Yesu Persaud passed away on the 16th of January 2021.
Dr Yesu Persaud was a great friend of the University of Warwick, from which he received his Honorary Doctorate in 2008. Yesu was a philanthropist who followed his dream to bring the Caribbean to the forefront of World culture. His donation to the Centre for Caribbean Studies, which was re-named in his honour in 2010, made the difference for decades in the life of those who dedicate their research to Caribbean Studies. On behalf of all the members of the Centre, we thank Dr Persaud for the support and collegial friendship he offered to the Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick.
Latest News
Annual Walter Rodney Lecture 2021
This year’s annual Walter Rodney lecture, “The Responsibilities of Caribbean Intellectuals” was given by Professor Aaron Kamugisha from the University of the West Indies. It was held online on 26th October and a recording of the event can be see here The Walter Rodney Lecture (warwick.ac.uk) Aaron Kamugisha is the Ruth Simmons Professor of Africana Studies at Smith College, the University of the West Indies. He is the editor of ten books and special issues of journals on Caribbean and Africana thought, and author of Beyond Coloniality: Citizenship and Freedom in the Caribbean Intellectual Tradition (Indiana University Press, 2019).