The Caribbean stands out in the popular imagination as a 'place without history', a place which has somehow eluded modernity. Haiti is envisioned as being trapped in an endless cycle of violence and instability, Cuba as a 1950s time warp, Jamaicans as ganja-smoking Rastafarians, while numerous pristine, anonymous islands are simply peaceful idylls. The notion of 'getting away from it all' lures countless visitors, offering the possibility of total disconnect for the world-weary. In "On the Move" Alejandra Bronfman argues that in fact the opposite is true; the Carribean is, and has always been, deeply engaged with the wider world. From drugs and tourism to international political struggles, these islands form an integral part of world history and of the present, and are themselves in a constant state of economic and social flux in the face of global transformations.

Table of Contents

Chapter One - Endings, and Beginnings Chapter Two - Transplanted Citizens Chapter Three - Sell it to Save It Chapter Four - A Tale of Two Substances Chapter Five - Wired on the Islands Chapter Six - The Spaces of History Notes; Suggestions for Further Reading; Index

Author Biography

Alejandra Bronfman is Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia. She has travelled extensively in the Caribbean, and has published several books, including Measures of Equality: Social Science, Citizenship and Race in Cuba, 1902-1940 (2004, University of North Carolina Press).