Sometime after 1492, the concept of the New World or America came into being, and this concept appeared differently — as an experience or an idea — for different people and in different places. This semester, we will read three groups of texts: first, participant accounts of contact between native Americans and French or English speaking Europeans, both in North America and in the Caribbean and Brazil; second, transformations of these documents into literary works by contemporaries; third, modern texts which take these earlier materials as a point of departure for rethinking the experience and aftermath of contact. The reading will allow us to compare perspectives across time and space, across the cultural geographies of religion, nation and ethnicity, and finally across a range of genres — reports, captivity narratives, essays, novels, poetry, drama, and film. Some of the earlier authors we will read are Michel Montaigne, William Shakespeare, Jean de Léry, Daniel Defoe and Mary Rowlandson; more recent authors include Derek Walcott, and J. M. Coetzee.

This is an initial guide for Trinidad and Tobago teachers on using the communication experiences of creole-influenced students to improve their Literacy. The ideas suggested here can serve as an alternative to the Language Experience Approach to the teach

For students in grades 2-7, an introduction to a musical tradition from the West Indian island of Trinidad, with a song to learn and related activities to do.

Craig Perue's contribution to the "OSS and OER in Education Series." In this post, he shares his experiences while leading eLearning@UWI’s investments in open-source software to make eLearning a self-sustaining, across all of the campuses of the 15-country University of the West Indies.

This course introduces students to the language of Haitian Kreyòl, or Creole, and to the culture of its speakers. The course is intended for students with no prior knowledge of the language and will develop both reading and writing skills--emphasizing communicative competence as well as grammatical and phonetic techniques. Importantly, this study of Kreyòl explores the language's social and cultural elements, as seen in Haiti and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The course includes an anthropological survey of Haitian history, economy, politics and religion. In addition to class work, music and film combine for a multilateral approach to language development. The program is designed to meet the needs of those who plan to conduct research in Haiti or in the Haitian diaspora, or who intend to work in a volunteer or professional capacity either in Haiti or with Haitians abroad.

Features 50 highlights from rare books, maps, paintings, and artifacts. The exhibit explores pre-Columbian cultures of Central America and the Caribbean, encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples, the growth of European Florida, and piracy and trade in the American Atlantic. Highlights include Columbus's account of the 1492 voyage, Frances Drake's maps, the first natural history of the Americas, and a 7th century wooden box that recorded Mayan dynastic lineage.

This module will introduce primary teachers in Trinidad and Tobago to the possibilities that digital storytelling holds for improved Literacy in primary school classrooms. With the increasing use of computer technology in teacher education and with both teachers and students as storytellers whose lives are filled with stories that are there for the telling, this initiative will enhance both creativity and Literacy among learners in an exciting way.

Excerpt from the film 'Third World Connection' which discusses the history of Puerto Rican ethnicity.

Helmut Schmidt became the head of Germany's Social Democratic Party in 1967 and deputy chairman of the party in 1968. Between 1969 and 1972, he served as defense minister, minister for economics and finance, and minister of finance. From 1974 to 1982, he was the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. In this video segment, Schmidt describes what he terms 'Euro-strategic' SS-20 missiles, which the Soviet Union began deploying along its western and southeastern borders in 1977. He viewed this deployment as destabilizing the nuclear balance in Europe, and he vigorously but unsuccessfully pressed President Jimmy Carter to include these missiles in the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) II negotiations. In the interview he conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'Carter's New World,' Schmidt recalls his anger and the political damage he suffered in 1978 when President Carter suddenly delayed his decision to produce the neutron bomb. He analyzes why the Soviet-U.S. relations deteriorated as the 1970s wore on, goes over Carter successor Ronald Reagan's initial receptivity to a 'zero-zero' option, relays the subsequent internal dissension and ascendancy of hardliners within the Reagan administration, and sheds light on the shift within the administration toward arms reductions. He recounts his conviction that the threat of deploying U.S. Pershing II and cruise missiles in response to the threat of the Soviet SS-20s brought the Soviet Union to the negotiating table. The Guadeloupe meeting that Schmidt helped organize produced the 'double-track decision' that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) council adopted at the end of 1979: to deploy the U.S. intermediate-range missiles while simultaneously bargaining them away in Geneva. Unlike some of his counterparts, Schmidt never feared the 'de-coupling' of the U.S. strategic deterrent from the defense of NATO Europe. He remained, though, keenly sensitive to the concentration of nuclear weapons deployed by other countries in the Federal Republic. In his interview, Schmidt explains the need for European collaboration in building up conventional forces to achieve both nuclear and non-nuclear parity between the Warsaw and NATO blocs.

provides a history of Puerto Rico and the forts Spain established on the island to help protect its growing population and riches in the Caribbean.

Franz Minuty, lecturer on Haitan culture, talks about the voodoo religion and what part it plays in Caribbean culture. He seeks to dispel the popular myths of voodoo as barbaric and evil.

This module will outline the basic concepts about the way children in general acquire talk (language) and by extension conversation skills. Teachers are invited to look at their experiences with Caribbean children in order to test these concepts. We also question, what our views are of child chat and how it is linked to Early Literacy Learning.

This article/module explores the notion that to assist "problem readers" in Trinidad and Tobago, it is necessary for teachers to have a knowledge of how language is used in the community and how communication events occur there. These can be the basis for

Development of education systems in the Caribbean. First program of two focusing on the political, cultural, educational, religious, and economic aspects of the Caribbean Islands. Hosts Barbara Barrow and Dighton Spooner speak with Dr. Tony Martin (author of Race First, from Greenwood Press), Joseph Peltier (member of a movement for a new Dominica), Franz Minuty (a lecturer on Haitian culture), and Kenneth A. Loftman (a former educator in the West Indies and businessman in Boston), about political happenings in Dominica, the impact of the tourist industry on the islands, if interregional trade is improving, the natural resources of the area, how change in the Caribbean change will affect its people and resources, Desmond Trotter (a Black political prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment in Dominica), and education in the West Indies. Program includes a short narrated segment on 'Carnival' in Trinidad. Produced by Marita Muhammad Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.

Franz Minuty discusses voodooism. Second program of two focusing on the political, cultural, educational, religious, and economic aspects of the Caribbean Islands. Hosts Barbara Barrow and Dighton Spooner speak with Dr. Tony Martin (author of Race First, from Greenwood Press), Joseph Peltier (member of a movement for a new Dominica), Franz Minuty (a lecturer on Haitian culture), and Kenneth A. Loftman (a former educator in the West Indies and businessman in Boston), about voodoo religion and what part it plays in Caribbean culture, voodoo as a way for Caribbean communities to use their own culture for spiritual development rather than the religion of white colonizing forces, Black awareness and Marcus Garvey (Martin's book Race First is about Garvey), the ideological conflicts between W.E.B. DuBois (of the NAACP) and Garvey, and Garvey's impact in the Caribbean. Program includes the 'Community Calendar.' Produced by Marita Muhammad Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.

provides lessons around stories, letters, poems, and folk tales from experiences of Peace Corps volunteers. Topics include the geography and cultures of the Dominican Republic, hurricanes, hero worship, conducting interviews, Paraguay, the risks of a one-crop economy (coffee), how best to use one's time in different cultures, why service to others matters, and the common good.

Eduardo Diaz asks Lyle Lane, Chief, US Interest Section, if the United States government is trying to work out a way in which Cuban Americans can visit their families in Cuba. He feels it is an area that will be mutually beneficial to both countries, and hope to encourage the formation of a more regular program that will allow residents from both countries to visit each other.

Dean Rusk-the sole cabinet member addressed by President John F. Kennedy as 'Mr. Secretary'-was the second-longest-serving secretary of state: his service spanned the Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations, from 1961 to 1969. This video segment illustrates Rusk and Kennedy's close relationship during the Cuban missile crisis and conveys the president's emotions and approach to decision-making as events unfolded. His interview conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'At the Brink' reveals Rusk to have been a very trusted adviser whose counsel was reserved for the president. While Rusk was part of the Executive Committee inner circle during the missile crisis, he was also a separate entity: he reserved his recommendation 'until the president and I heard from all of these working groups.' Throughout the two-week crisis, Rusk avidly pursued a diplomatic resolution, helped build consensus, and facilitated out-of-channel communications. Beyond the missile crisis, Rusk talks about European fears that the United States' commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be weakened by the 'flexible response' strategy.

The use of Open Source software is being seriously considered in the Caribbean as a viable alternative to more proprietary "brands" by Higher Educational institutions. The user-public must know the whole story and what are the issues and the possibilities of this vision. This collection of webs is a step in the direction of gaining that knowledge. It marks the start of our Open Source Reading project with teachers at the UTT. One hopes that soon Caribbean institutions will be more involved in the Open Educational resources movement using something like the cnx.org model.