Globalisation and Cultural Identity in Caribbean Society: The Jamaican Case

The Caribbean is a region whose very name reverberates from the early effects of globalisation (then called colonialism). The result is that the identity of the region and its people has been significantly shaped by two groups of people; Africans and Europeans. Having moved into a new phase of globalisation, the Caribbean region faces new challenges within its political, economic, social and cultural beliefs and practices. Within the context of this paper, the Caribbean challenge of maintaining its cultural identity in the face of increasingly influential global norms, especially American hegemonic practices, will be assessed. This paper will argue that the Caribbean identity is an unintended consequence of globalisation. As “identity” has many facets, the focus will be on cultural identity, positing that Caribbean cultural identity is a hybrid of various cultures which ‘met’ each other because of the exploitative tendencies of early Europeans. It will go further to explore how the new face of globalisation, specifically American culture, is impacting on the cultural identity of the Caribbean. This will be accomplished by focusing primarily on Jamaica. The paper seeks to answer questions such as: Is the process of synthesis continuing, or is the Caribbean culture being subsumed by that of its more powerful neighbour? Is fluidity an essential aspect of the Caribbean cultural identity, and is it therefore able to adjust to any pressure which it may face? Can the discussion of the Caribbean cultural identity, in the face of globalisation, offer guidelines to other aspects of Caribbean life, for example, economic strategies