The History Forum

"My analog mix tape is on cassette. Your digital fantasy is …." : Some Reflections on Barbados, Digital Rights and the “Thingification” in the Arts, Culture and Heritage  By, Dr. Tara Inniss, Department of History, Philosophy and Psychology  I will be dropping some samples from my mix tape in a series which will explore some concepts of digital rights and ethics in the space of arts, culture and heritage in Barbados and the Diaspora. In an era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and “big data” we need more local oversight of culture and heritage, not less especially in the management of our digital repositories. Our so-called “digital transformation” must ensure that they are managed in a way that prioritizes access for Barbadians to their history and culture. There can be no discussion of decolonization and the “public good” that does not honour the birthright of Barbadians to determine their own value as creators, owners and consumers of their history and culture. Track 1 “IP, ...

A Symbolic State of Affairs and Some Words from Our Fallen Historians  By, Dr. Tara Inniss Department of History, Philosophy and Psychology, The UWI, Cave Hill Campus  How symbolic of our current state of affairs that we remove from among our first landing places of indigenous, European and African peoples, the very civic institutions that are part of an enduring (and admittedly problematic) development of our modern democracy to put up yet another hotel on our already hotel-dense “Platinum Coast”? According to the Ministerial Statement delivered by Dr. the Hon. William Duguid on March 7, 2025 the listed indigenous archaeological site, the remnants of a military fortification, and a monument may now be retained – we hope. But the land tax department. The post office. The police station and magistrate’s court. The library. All parts of movements and institutions that have been providing Barbadians and visitors to these shores with services that have become part of our daily liv...