Independence and After: Dr Eric Williams and the Making of Trinidad and Tobago

To mark the centenary of the birth of Dr Eric Williams and in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of independence in Trinidad and Tobago, a one-day conference Independence and After: Dr Eric Williams and the Making of Trinidad and Tobago was held at the Institute for the Study of the Americas on the 27 September 2011. This conference explored the shaping of Trinidadian politics and society under the Williams’ administration and the legacies of this period today.


The conference was filmed and all panels are now available to view on:


http://americas.sas.ac.uk/events/videos-podcasts-and-papers/independence-and-after-dr-eric-williams-the-making-of-trinidad-tobago.html

(Programme below)

The Institute is grateful to the Eric Williams Memorial Collection Research Library, Archives & Museum at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago for their generous funding of this conference.

PROGRAMME

10.00-10.05 Welcome and Introduction

10.05 – 11.15 Dissecting the Man and the Myth
• Paul Sutton, Reader Emeritus, Hull University "Ryan on Williams: An Appreciation and Critique"
• Selwyn Ryan, University of the West Indies, St Augustine "Response"
• Colin Palmer, Schomburg Center "Response"

11.30 -1.00 Politics & Ethnicity
• Colin Clarke, Professor Emeritus, Oxford University "Reflexions on Race, Religion and Politics in Trinidad and Tobago either side of Independence"
• Brinsley Samaroo, University of the West Indies, St Augustine "Dr Williams’ Academic East Indian Concerns"
• Humberto Garcia Muniz, University of Puerto Rico "The Pan-Caribbeanism of Eric Williams"

2.00 – 3.15 Politics & National Culture
• Teruyuki Tsuji, Kwansei Gakuin University "Villaging the Nation: Eric Williams and the Engineering of National Culture"
• Jacqueline Nunes, London School of Economics "Voice of the oppressed or the oppressor's tool? A quantitative analysis of the relationship between calypso and the PNM"

3.15 – 4.30 Personal Reflections on Political Times
• Raoul Pantin, journalist and writer, Trinidad and Tobago "Eric Williams: A Personal Reflection"

4.50-6.00 Legacies of the Williams Era
• Matthew Bishop, University of the West Indies, St Augustine "The Legacy of Eric Williams and Contemporary Trinidadian Politics"

• ROUND TABLE followed by open discussion: Reflections on the Williams Era, including:
- Colin Palmer, Schomburg Centre, New York
- Selwyn Ryan, University of the West Indies, St Augustine
- Brinsley Samaroo, University of the West Indies, St Augustine