Defining the scope of the terminology that we use in the project has been a fraught process, as the following comments by partners and team members clearly shows:

What about people of dual heritage or mixed 'race'?

For this project the term 'Caribbean' should be taken to refer to the English - speaking countries and peoples of this region, or the inhabitants of countries once under British colonial rule. Colonial legacies have meant that the historical connectivity resulting in this language zone, and the fact that the majority of migration from the region to the UK originated from the English-speaking Caribbean, has informed the study of the region and the body of available information in Britain. An examination of resources for these countries also fits with the time and linguistic restrictions of this project. With regard to the concentration on the English-speaking Caribbean, it is true to say that the context of the Spanish-, French- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean cannot be ignored and our approach to the history and literature of the region is meaningless without giving them substantial attention. Making reference to the Dutch, Spanish and French territories if appropriate, the records are primarily those from the Anglophone area: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands.

The term 'Black' is used to refer to peoples of African descent or those whose ancestry lies either directly, or in part, in the black African or Caribbean diasporas. The term 'Asian' is used to refer to peoples with recent or direct links with Asian countries, in particular those with recent or direct origins in Bangladesh, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Both terms include Asian and Black peoples of 'dual heritage' or mixed 'race'. Black and Asian are used as sociopolitical signifiers, and the sociological, political, as well as psychological implications of sharing, or being perceived as belonging to these two 'umbrella' groups must be understood in historical as well as contemporary contexts. The historical context is in relation to the legacies of slavery, colonization, struggles against colonial rule and independence, and the postwar migration of peoples of African and Asian descent whose arrival added to the large number already resident. The contemporary context is in relation to the ongoing need to tackle racism and find ways in which to develop policies, practices and initiatives aimed at highlighting key groups in British society.

Our preferred terms should not be viewed as an attempt to establish concrete definitions: they are used solely to enable users to search our database in three key subject areas. Aware of the fact that terminology used to describe different social groups - not least those that have been racialised and oppressed - is fraught with difficulties, we have chosen to use terms which allow for the widest possible access to the data. We are equally aware of the problems inherent in such umbrella terminology and it is our policy to be as specific as we can in describing the diversity of groups referred to in the research resources. Lastly, it is clear that terms used to identify groups of people are not static. For instance,although the distinctions between the realities of life for British-born people of African and Asian descent is increasingly being highlighted and emphasized, many people still use 'Black' as as a unifying political concept of solidarity. Thus we are aware that our preferred terms may not be suitable for use in future projects as new terms are constantly emerging to represent new social and political realities.

GO BACK