Guest Editor’s Introduction

Abstract

Guest Editor’s Introduction Bridget Brereton (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution Carl C. Campbell [End Page x] Carl Campbell was born in Kingston in October 1937. His path to secondary education was not as clear as it was for some of his contemporaries, but he did what would soon be called ‘O Levels’ at the private Waulgrove College on a scholarship (1952–1954), and his ‘A Levels’ at Kingston College, on another scholarship (1954–1956). This second scholarship was obtained on the expectation that he was being prepared for the Anglican clergy, which–fortunately for Caribbean historiography–was not to be. Carl entered the still very new University College of the West Indies at Mona on a third scholarship in 1957, aged 20, to read for a History Special Honours degree, which he obtained in 1960. He lived in Taylor Hall (where else?) for four years. At Mona, Carl fell in love with the academic life, and developed a passion for historical research. On a Jamaican Government scholarship, he spent two years in London (1961–1963) researching for his MA thesis (more like a MPhil thesis in fact) on education in Jamaica in the post-emancipation years. In 1963, Carl came to St Augustine, where the College of Arts and Sciences had just been created to join the Faculties of Agriculture and Engineering; he was the first person to teach history courses at that campus. He soon began work on his PhD thesis, on the history of education in Trinidad between 1834 and 1870, which was completed in the early 1970s. Like all good Jamaicans he wanted to go home; and in 1972 he was transferred to the Mona campus. The Mona History Department was Carl’s home from then on. A Senior Lecturer from 1976, he served as Head for six years, in two tranches, 1978–1981 and 1987–1990, and became a Professor in 1992. Though he retired in 2004, he continued to teach part-time up to 2012, and still spends much of his time on campus, in the Library and around the Department; in 2012 he delivered the annual Elsa Goveia Memorial Lecture. Carl has been active in the Association of Caribbean Historians; he served as its first Secretary/Treasurer, and later was its President. Carl married Silviline Bennett in 1964; they have a daughter, Lorraine, and two grandchildren. He has been a committed Christian all his life and devotes much of his time now to his (Anglican) church. [End Page xi] At St Augustine, Carl was a true pioneer. He often speaks of the confusion that reigned in October 1963 as teaching in the humanities and sciences began at that campus, with a sudden influx of new students and very inadequate resources, especially books and teaching materials of all kinds, not to mention decent classrooms. The term had already started before he was told that he was to teach a course in early modern Europe. In the 1960s, he was one of a trio–the others were James Millette and Neville Hall–who developed history teaching and postgraduate research at St Augustine; Brinsley Samaroo joined later. (I became a full-time teacher in the new Department of History in 1972; Carl often points out that it was his leaving St Augustine which created the slot I was lucky to fill.) At the same time, Carl was embarking on his PhD research and writing, which he completed after he had transferred to Mona. At Mona, Carl became a pillar of the Department. His interest was always in its collective progress and accomplishments, to which his own very considerable achievements took second place for him. He was an outstanding colleague and leader, both when he was Head and at other times. His colleagues Matthew Smith and Aleric Josephs, in their contributions to this volume, have emphasized this quality, and his role as a “quiet enabler” and mentor. Kathleen Monteith, a recent Head at Mona, has described him (in a letter to me) as “one of the nicest, and most kind, supportive and endearing persons to know. Truly a great colleague”. Carl was and is always generous with his time and expertise, with students and...