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Papers by Michelene Adams

International Journal of Bahamian Studies, Feb 19, 2008

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivified through the metaphors of the body and the voice. Of course, the issues of history, corporeality and voice are all crucial in feminist discourse, so I also explore what Brodber is suggesting with regard to gender while representing the Aboriginal. In Erna Brodber's short story "One Bubby Susan" (1989-1990), the contemporary Jamaican narrator, who is apparently black and female, recounts the tale of an Arawak woman called Susan, as told to her by the Aboriginal woman herself. Interestingly, the story begins immediately before Europeans made landfall in Jamaica and includes references to the turmoil that they introduced straight away to Arawak society. The narrator attempts to persuade the reader that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica, which has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak woman, is, in fact, not a work of art but the outline of Susan's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by Arawaks like herself. By telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalisation in history as Aboriginal and female. The near complete decimation of the Aboriginal has left great interstices in the region's history. Because their fractional record has failed to truly legitimise

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber,... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual wom-an's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Araw...

In the story “One Bubby Susan” (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story “One Bubby Susan” (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman’s body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivifi...

Se estudia la forma en que la novela interpreta las relaciones sexuales y de genero predominantes... more Se estudia la forma en que la novela interpreta las relaciones sexuales y de genero predominantes en las Antillas anglofonas. El objetivo es describir y explicar como el simbolo de la madre alegoriza lo femenino en la historia social de dicha region. Esto permite hacer un recorrido por las concepciones sobre la mujer y su rol comunitario en la tradicion intelectual anglocaribena. En este articulo se realiza un analisis hermeneutico textual que compara la obra con diferentes textos sobre el tema, a partir del cual se observa como la narradora ratifica el valor de su propia subjetividad mediante la apelacion a su ancestralidad matrilineal. Este analisis contribuye a consolidar las perspectivas de genero en el marco general de los estudios caribenos.

The International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 2008

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivified through the metaphors of the body and the voice. Of course, the issues of history, corporeality and voice are all crucial in feminist discourse, so I also explore what Brodber is suggesting with regard to gender while representing the Aboriginal. In Erna Brodber's short story "One Bubby Susan" (1989-1990), the contemporary Jamaican narrator, who is apparently black and female, recounts the tale of an Arawak woman called Susan, as told to her by the Aboriginal woman herself. Interestingly, the story begins immediately before Europeans made landfall in Jamaica and includes references to the turmoil that they introduced straight away to Arawak society. The narrator attempts to persuade the reader that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica, which has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak woman, is, in fact, not a work of art but the outline of Susan's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by Arawaks like herself. By telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalisation in history as Aboriginal and female. The near complete decimation of the Aboriginal has left great interstices in the region's history. Because their fractional record has failed to truly legitimise

International Journal of Bahamian Studies, Feb 19, 2008

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivified through the metaphors of the body and the voice. Of course, the issues of history, corporeality and voice are all crucial in feminist discourse, so I also explore what Brodber is suggesting with regard to gender while representing the Aboriginal. In Erna Brodber's short story "One Bubby Susan" (1989-1990), the contemporary Jamaican narrator, who is apparently black and female, recounts the tale of an Arawak woman called Susan, as told to her by the Aboriginal woman herself. Interestingly, the story begins immediately before Europeans made landfall in Jamaica and includes references to the turmoil that they introduced straight away to Arawak society. The narrator attempts to persuade the reader that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica, which has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak woman, is, in fact, not a work of art but the outline of Susan's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by Arawaks like herself. By telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalisation in history as Aboriginal and female. The near complete decimation of the Aboriginal has left great interstices in the region's history. Because their fractional record has failed to truly legitimise

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber,... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual wom-an's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Araw...

In the story “One Bubby Susan” (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story “One Bubby Susan” (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman’s body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivifi...

Se estudia la forma en que la novela interpreta las relaciones sexuales y de genero predominantes... more Se estudia la forma en que la novela interpreta las relaciones sexuales y de genero predominantes en las Antillas anglofonas. El objetivo es describir y explicar como el simbolo de la madre alegoriza lo femenino en la historia social de dicha region. Esto permite hacer un recorrido por las concepciones sobre la mujer y su rol comunitario en la tradicion intelectual anglocaribena. En este articulo se realiza un analisis hermeneutico textual que compara la obra con diferentes textos sobre el tema, a partir del cual se observa como la narradora ratifica el valor de su propia subjetividad mediante la apelacion a su ancestralidad matrilineal. Este analisis contribuye a consolidar las perspectivas de genero en el marco general de los estudios caribenos.

The International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 2008

In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narra... more In the story "One Bubby Susan" (1990), by Jamaican sociologist and author Erna Brodber, the narrator attempts to persuade the listener that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica that has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak female is, in fact, not a work of art, but the outline of an actual woman's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by her own people. The contemporary Jamaican narrator recounts the tale which she has been told by the ghost of the Arawak female herself, and, by telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalization as Aboriginal and as woman. In the paper I briefly consider how the Aboriginal has remained on the margins in colonial and even in more modern Caribbean discourse. I examine how Brodber recasts the Aboriginal in the central role. First, I consider how she questions the authority of official Histories and scribal culture generally. Then, I explore how the Arawak is re-vivified through the metaphors of the body and the voice. Of course, the issues of history, corporeality and voice are all crucial in feminist discourse, so I also explore what Brodber is suggesting with regard to gender while representing the Aboriginal. In Erna Brodber's short story "One Bubby Susan" (1989-1990), the contemporary Jamaican narrator, who is apparently black and female, recounts the tale of an Arawak woman called Susan, as told to her by the Aboriginal woman herself. Interestingly, the story begins immediately before Europeans made landfall in Jamaica and includes references to the turmoil that they introduced straight away to Arawak society. The narrator attempts to persuade the reader that a petroglyph in a cave in Jamaica, which has been identified in texts as the depiction of an Arawak woman, is, in fact, not a work of art but the outline of Susan's body. The outline was left in the rock when she was stoned to death by Arawaks like herself. By telling her life across centuries to the narrator, Susan challenges her own marginalisation in history as Aboriginal and female. The near complete decimation of the Aboriginal has left great interstices in the region's history. Because their fractional record has failed to truly legitimise