The Contemporary Caribbean

The Contemporary Caribbean

provides an illuminating and detailed overview of the contemporary economic, social, geographical, environmental and political realities of the Caribbean region. Historical aspects of the Caribbean, such as slavery, the plantation system and plantocracy are covered in order to explain the contemporary nature of, and challenges faced by, the Caribbean.

Most previously authored texts on the Caribbean tend to approach the subject from discrete and particular perspectives (e.g. history, environment, business, media) and as such fail to present an holistic view of the extant nature of this complex region. The book is divided into three parts, dealing respectively with: the foundations of the Caribbean, rural and urban bases of the contemporary Caribbean, and global restructuring and the Caribbean: industry, globalization, tourism and politics.

Main features:

• Stresses the contemporary nature of the Caribbean as its primary focus, but also covers the foundations in historical processes of the region.
• Well-illustrated with maps, figures, graphics and photographs.
• Boxed case studies are presented in each chapter, principally, but not exclusively, to provide country or region-specific case studies. For example, Promoting export-oriented manufacturing: the example of St Lucias National Development Corporation; Grenada, from "not for sale" to "for sale": US opposition to its socialist experiment; Patterns of settlement and economic activity in Guyana; Urbanisation and urban structure of San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Housing in Cuba: the contribution of the microbrigade system.

This is a comprehensive tertiary level textbook aimed at students taking courses that involve consideration of the contemporary character of the Caribbean region. The book will be of value to undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses in geography, development studies, black studies, social policy and social science, economics and politics, as well as more generally in the social sciences.

Robert B. Potter is Professor of Human Geography and Director of Research in the School of Human and Environmental Sciences at the University of Reading. David Barker is Senior Lecturer in Geography at the University of the West Indies. Dennis Conway is Professor of Geography at Indiana University. Thomas Klak is Professor of Geography at Miami University, Ohio. All four authors have considerable experience in undertaking first-hand research in the Caribbean.