Keith Ellis - Evolving Trends in Caribbean Studies

Abstract

The surge of optimism that was prominent in the initial critical work that appeared under the postcolonial rubric has to be tempered in light of the cultural, political and economic consequences of the reaction of imperialism to the supposed new freedoms. New assessments have to be made of the status of the freedoms won by people who were previously formally colonized and of the ways being sought by them to preserve or achieve their authentic self-expression, taking into account such institutions as the media, the church, and the creative arts in specific national contexts, particularly in the Caribbean.

Bio

Dr. Keith Ellis is Emeritus Professor at the University of Toronto, where he taught Latin American Literature and Culture from 1963 to 2000. He is considered one of the world's authorities on the Caribbean poet Nicolás Guillén. He has published more than 100 scholarly articles and 18 books. In 2010, he received the Andrés Bello Medal, the Dulce María Loynaz International Prize, and the Medal of the University of Havana, where in 1998 he became one of the few scholars to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate in its 270-year-old history. His work has also been recognized with the Nicolás Guillén Medal (2002) and his membership in the Royal Society of Canada since 1988, among other distinctions.