"The Folk Roots of Jamaican Cultural Identity," by Edward Seaga

     A change from our typical reading, this scholarly article took a more scientific, fact based approach in looking at the culture of Jamaica and its people. While we certainly learn and understand these cultures through the more fictionalized literature we have been reading, this article was a good, straightforward way of learning about one of these Caribbean islands. To me, I almost recognized this article as taking a psychological approach to studying the culture, looking at how nature vs. nurture and the environments these people are raised in affect their lives and experiences. My preconceived notions of Jamaica were a laid back, 'chill' lifestyle, and the article did get into that, but what was interesting to me were the family dynamics that Seaga also touched on. The article says, "72% of Jamaican parents use methods to discipline their children which are characterized by some form of violence." This presence of violence and harsh discipline incites fear and leads to trauma for these children at a young age that leads to struggles in adulthood. 

    What is impressive is seeing how this adversity leads some people to finding strengths and successes in other aspects of life. For example, sports were talked about in the article, saying "This superiority sets the stage for achievers to participate in sports as the arena for overcoming the challenges of a relaxed upbringing and the assertiveness acquired in dealing with a competitive environment." Though it might be an unorthodox upbringing, it leads to a 'survival of the fittest' type of environment, which obviously has positive and negative benefits. One of the positives that the article talks about is the best rising to the top which leads to successful athletes, artists, and musicians, which are all staples of the Jamaican cultural identity. The author shows both sides of the duality that he argued brought Jamaican culture together, with the tougher, harsher lifestyles meeting the more laid back, perceived Jamaican culture.

 -cs

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