CARIBBEAN QUILT | 2011 
 

6 
 

Letter from the Editor 
 

The Caribbean Studies Students Union, otherwise known as 
CARSSU, is proud to be launching its first ever academic journal which 
is premised on what we like to call, the Caribbean Quilt. It is true that a 
tropical region such as the Caribbean is seldom thought of in relation to 
any type of blanket. Yet we believe the “quilt” to be relevant to the 
publication of this journal for a number of reasons. 
 Firstly, the Caribbean is historically a space of massive 
diversity; this includes its flora and fauna and the history, peoples, 
cultures, and experiences that have defined its complexity and 
dynamism. In our Canadian political discourse, specifically in Toronto 
where ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘cultural identity’ are commonly referred 
to, we have a tendency to collectively forget that ours is not the only 
time and place where these issues have been taken up in some way. The 
Caribbean has thrown a wrench into the ideology surrounding the 
virginity or purity of cultures, as a space it has historically complicated 
the idea of identity by being a site of hybridity, as well as a testing 
ground for (and against) European modernity. 

Worrisome to mention for some, it has also been ground-zero 
for European colonialism in the Americas – specifically Hispaniola, 
present-day Haiti. As a result, it has been home to many of the modern 
world’s historically marginalized, most populously in the form of 
indigenous peoples, enslaved peoples, and indentured labourers. One of 
our primary aims with this journal was to stitch together as much of this 
diversity as we could in our content, making this a key component to 
our “quilt.” Another involves not limiting our approach to one in which 
only the social science essay gets its due. To engage a broader audience 
and to acknowledge and respect different forms of expression, we have 
included poetry, paintings, photographs as well as the standard essay.  
 Our theoretical canvas is certainly less heterogeneous and serves 
as the overall fabric for our project. As a union we are pedagogically 
committed to interdisciplinary work and to a type of thinking which is 
largely critical of dominant discourses related to politics, economics, 
history, and even sport. This means that, at the very least, the lens 



LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 

7 
 

through which we are examining certain phenomena is not one in which 
power is meant to be reinforced or praised.  

Through adopting a critical approach, we hope to come up with 
more thorough and meaningful responses to the questions affecting the 
Caribbean and the diaspora. We have found it necessary to examine 
issues with as much of a focus as possible on the inequalities, forgotten 
histories, inconvenient truths, and unsettling experiences that remain 
outside the purview of the popular.  

An alternate name to this journal may very well be “Displaced.” 
It opens with the experience of a young Haitian student in an unfamiliar 
setting, and continues with poems and pieces that, through no concerted 
effort or attempt, echo (to the careful reader) the underlying theme of 
displacement. This lack of an attempt to abide by a “definitive” theme 
simply for the sake of doing so however makes this journal all the more 
special, and all the more organic. 

The Caribbean Quilt is not simply the weaving together of 
material, but of the actual people who contributed to this edition. 
Because many young Caribbean scholars and students often find 
themselves isolated from one another, the enterprise of creating this 
journal was one in which we simultaneously hoped to develop and 
sustain linkages between very bright minds in the university, linkages 
which up until now have never existed. 

Lastly, the quilt relates to the climate we find ourselves in, that 
is, outside of the Caribbean. Some of the contributors were born there, 
some have simply been, others have never even set foot in what they 
nostalgically refer to as “home” (I should include myself in this latter 
category). For whatever reason however, many contributors still 
identify as Caribbean first and Canadian second, finding their 
experience in the Great White North to be difficult, and having their 
own identity in a constant state of flux and tension. The launch of this 
journal is thus partly aimed at giving their voices a home, however 
rudimentary. 
 
Editor 
 
Kevin De Silva, CARSSU  
March 2011