This book situates its contemplation of the nineteenth-century Trinidadian landscape in the context of an emerging sub-field of Caribbean postcolonial studies; by connecting the visual representation and indexing of colonial landscapes and people with the making of colonial power. Emphasis is placed on three pivotal image catalogues which span the pre and post emancipation periods and which connect the projects of British slavery and indentureship. The book unearths sketches; paintings; lithographs and engravings and analyzes them as central to the iconic framing and disciplining of colonized subjects; tropical nature and the plantation landscape. Focusing on the image works of British travellers Richard Bridgens and Charles Kingsley and Creole artist; Michel Jean Cazabon; the chapters consider how an aesthetic logic was not only illustrative but constitutive of racialized and gendered scripts of colonial landscapes; nature and identity. While these various strands of aesthetic reasoning reveal a seemingly coherent operation of colonial power; they also register the very ambiguity of these disciplinary projects in moments of uncertainty regarding the amelioration of African slavery; the emancipation of slavery; and the highly contested project of Indian indentureship in the Caribbean. The book reflects the dynamic instability of colonial inventive projects manifest in a period of experimental and troubled British rule that potentially frustrates any attempt to recover the truth of Caribbean colonial reality.
#336571 in Books Janiskee Brian P 2015-07-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.89 x .45 x 6.06l; .0 #File Name: 1442247533170 pagesDemocracy in California Politics and Government in the Golden State
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Good data; biased commentaryBy CharlotteThere is a lot of useful information in this book. However; Ken Masugi's conservative leanings taint the middle chapters with unnecessary political commentary; subtly suggesting; for instance; that activists inappropriately protested Prop 8 and that lower tax rates are a smarter choice than higher ones. There are certainly arguments to be made for these points of view -- but they are presented as fact; a choice that lowered my confidence in the validity of the rest of the book's contents. Give this book a read; yes -- but take its middle chapters with a grain of salt.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Fine civics textBy Reader 47Fine civics text; An excellent government discussion about our nation's most populous state and a very successful one at that. I highly recommend it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Informative and interestingBy AnthonyI thoroughly enjoyed that despite how brief this book is; there is a surprising amount of information of which I did know despite living here for many years.
