|
|
|
  |
Sir Arthur Lewis |
Basic Studies Mounted in Jamaica
The Institute of Social and Economic Studies (ISES) was established on the Mona Campus, Jamaica, in 1948. Known then as the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), its establishment was due to a need to develop a body of basic knowledge about Caribbean society and economy which would assist emergent governments in the Anglophone Caribbean and the academic staff of the newly established University College of the West Indies. This had its origins in the British Colonial authorities acting through the Colonial Social Science Research Council. It might have been inspired by the general need felt by governments west of the "Iron Curtain " to secure information about the colonial world as part of their strategy of making the world "safe for democracy" and of course capitalism. The West Indies was also regarded by colonial authorities as an exciting laboratory for the study of transplanted cultures. As such, it was felt that British funds should be made available to undertake such studies.
Initial Projects in the Wider Caribbean
In the early years of ISES's history, several projects were undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean by staff recruited by or based at Mona, Jamaica. Among the many projects undertaken on this outreach basis was the classic and pioneering study of the social structure of Trinidad and Tobago by Lloyd Braithwaite which was later published in Social and Economic Studies Vol.2, Nos. 2 and 3, 1953, as "Social Stratification in Trinidad and Tobago."That study was part of a larger tripartite project which involved the overall examination of Trinidad society in transition from colonialism to self government. The project also involved an intensive study of the village of Blanchisseuse and the ways in which it was linked to the rest of the society, and a study of previously indentured Indians as they sought to accommodate and acculturate themselves to colonial and "creole' Trinidad and Tobago. A study of the folk traditions of Trinidad and Tobago was also undertaken by Dr. J. D. Elder and Mr. John Cupid in conjunction with the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. This small staff was assisted by Mrs. Hyacinth Walters who served as clerk/secretary.
Unit of Institute Set Up in Trinidad
In 1970, a decision was taken to establish a branch of the Institute on the St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad. One had already been established at Cave Hill in 1963 to look after the research needs of Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean states. Mr. Jack Harewood was the individual recruited to head the newly established unit at St. Augustine. He had been employed at Mona from 1968-1969 as a replacement for demographer Dr. George Roberts, who was on leave for a year. Harewood, who also served as Associate Director of the regional Census Research Programme, was invited by the then Director of ISER, Alister Mc Intyre, to take up the post of Associate Director of ISER, St. Augustine at the level of Professor. Harewood's remit was to undertake census and other demographic research in Trinidad and Tobago and the Southern and Eastern Caribbean. Harewood was joined in September of the same year by Mrs. Norma Abdulah, also a demographer, who had recently returned from Canada. Like Harewood, Abdulah had been a Research Fellow at ISER Mona in 1964.
Fields of Research Broaden
Among the early studies undertaken by the newly created unit was a study of the social impact of tourism in Tobago, two family planning and fertility surveys among men and women in Trinidad and Tobago, and a human resources project, all on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. ISER also served in an advisory capacity to the Government of Guyana relating to a series of Labour Force Surveys and to the Associated States of the Caribbean on statistical training, Consultancy Services were also supplied to the Population Council of New York and to the International Statistical Institute.
Financial Setbacks
On the suggestion of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, plans were initiated in 1974 to undertake a study of the history of the calypso and of the social and economic impact of Carnival. The aim of the latter project was to determine who benefited from the activities associated with Carnival. Two seminars were held in connection with the project, but funds for its execution, which it was hoped would come from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, the Organisation of American States (OAS), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), UNESCO, International Development Research Council (IDRC) and the European Union did not materialise. As such, the project was never executed. The same fate befell the calypso project, the aim of which was to discover how our ancestors lived ,who they were, how they reacted to different situations created by the coloniser and what they had to say about life. The funding for the project, which was expected to come from the University, the Government and private sector in equal amounts, did not materialise.
 CARIBSCAPE WEB DESIGN |
Copyright ©,