AR20R: An Introduction to Caribbean Folk Philosophy

Lecturer: Mr. Jalani Niaah
Pre-requisite: None
Semester: 1
Credits: 3
Level: 2

See also Course Flyer

Course Rationale:

The highlights of the resistance philosophy and practice viewed through the inner logic of the folk imagination are central in deconstructing the often imposed binary categories which seek to evaluate and often devalue the work of the organic scholars as impassioned, disorganised and lacking in intellectual rigor. The course introduces students to the concept of “Folk Philosophy” as a Caribbean critical intellectual tradition developed and advanced by unlettered thinkers. It highlights the contribution in particular that of ideology and praxis of key agents in establishing discourses on New World being and the interpretation of the experiences since slave Emancipation. These ideas will be discussed in light of the national heroes, official and unofficial, as agents in the construction of a Caribbean Folk Philosophy.

Course Aims and Learning Objectives:

Students will be able to:

• identify the key sources of Caribbean folk philosophy;
• delineate its inner logic, structure and aesthetic as well as its philosophical emphases;
• analyze the work of some of its main contributors,
• and, assess its contribution to the society.

Course Outline:

Definitions of “folk” and “folk Philosophy”
Texts & Sources to Folk Philosophy
Central Ideas in Folk Philosophy
Dark & Light: the thought of Good vs. Evil
- healing; wellness; & protection
- Oppression vs. Liberation
- Birth / Death
Icons of folk Philosophy
Comparative Folk Philosophies
Negotiating the terrain: impact of Folk philosophers

Teaching Methodology:

A lecture course of 26 hours and tutorials up to 9 hours.

Evaluation:

A comprehensive final two-hour examination worth 70%; and a tutorial essay designed to test students' ability to analyse and critique materials covered worth 30%.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRESCRIBED READING :

Brodber, Erna (1985) “Oral Sources and the Creation of Social History of the Caribbean”, in Jamaica Journal , Vol. 16 (4) pp. 4-7.

Chevannes, Barry (2001). Ambiguity and the Search for knowledge: An Open-ended Adventure of Imagination , University of the West Indies , the University Printery

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

• Chevannes, Barry (199?) Drop Pan and Folk Consciousness, Jamaica Journal , vol. 22 # 2
• Hausman, Gerald ed. (1999) The Kebra Nagast: the Lost Bible of Rastafarian Wisdom and Faith from Ethiopian and Jamaica , St Martin's Press, New York
• Hill, Robert (2001) Dread History: Leonard P. Howell and Millenarian Visions in the Early Rastafarian Religion , Research Association School Times Publication/ Frontline Distribution Int'l Inc.
• Murrell, Nathaniel, ed. (1998) Chanting Down Babylon : The Rastafari Reader . Kingston , Ja.: Ian Randle Publishers