The Uwi Gender Journey ― Recollections and Reflections

Drawing on personal recollections, documentary material, recordings, and testimonials, the authors, who were involved at different stages in its development, document the history and evolution of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at the U. of the West Indies (UWI) from 1978 to the present, from its origins, through its existence as the Women and Development Studies Unit and the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, to becoming the Institute for Gender and Development Studies. They discuss strategic points in its development, as well as lessons learned and opportunities for further advancement, the issue of the position of women in the U. of West Indies, and the increased application of gender concepts to development strategies in the region and the university. They discuss the socio-economic and political context for the study of women's issues in the region and conceptual and pedagogical challenges that influenced the origin and growth of the initiative; efforts at introducing the idea of the Women and Development Unit into the university through a regional outreach unit and a large-scale regional research project; the establishment of Women and Development Studies Groups across three campuses; the emergence of the Centre for Gender and Development Studies, its mission, challenges, actions, and achievements; the further development of the mission of teaching, research, and outreach, as well as the transition from a center to an institute; and the achievements and lessons learned, current challenges and needs, and the future. Distributed by Longleaf Services, Inc. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)