Barry Chevannes
Barry Chevannes | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alston Barrington Chevannes 7 January 1940 Saint Catherine Parish, Colony of Jamaica, British Empire |
| Died | 5 November 2010 (aged 70) |
| Education | St. George's College |
| Alma mater | Boston College University of the West Indies Columbia University |
| Occupation | Academic |
| Notable work | Rastafari: Roots and Ideology (1994) |
Alston Barrington "Barry" Chevannes OD OJ (7 January 1940 – 5 November 2010)[1] was a Jamaican social anthropologist, academic and social activist. He was a leading authority on Caribbean socio-religious movements, most notably the Rastafari, and central figure in Jamaican public life.
Biography
Chevannes was born in the rural parish of Saint Catherine, a third of nine children.[2] In 1953, he travelled to Kingston where he attended St. George's College and it was here that he graduated valedictorian of his class.[3] After his graduation, he felt convicted to serve as a priest leading him to go to the Shadowbrook Jesuit Seminary in Massachusetts, United States.[2] It was during this time that he decided to do a bachelors degree in Philosophy and a masters in Classics with Boston College. In 1966, he made the decision to return to Jamaica where he would teach at a Jesuit school.[2] It would also be around the same period that he would abandon the priesthood in response to both his experiences living as a Black man in the U.S. and the social and economic inequality experienced in his native country.[2] These experiences would compel him to take another masters degree but this time in Sociology with the University of the West Indies.[1] It was during his time as a masters student that he undertook a study on Afro Caribbean culture and religion more especially the Rastafari movement including one of the earliest studies on the social impact of ganja in Jamaica.[4] His research on the Rastafari movement would lead to his receiving a scholarship to do a PhD in Anthropology with Columbia University in the U.S.[4]
Career
Chevannes became attached to the University of West Indies in 1973 around the time he was a masters student.[4] During his tenure at the University of West Indies, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences from 1996 to 2004.[1] In addition, he would serve as chair in the National Commission on Ganja and the Institute of Jamaica from 1997 to 2000.[1] As an authority on Rastafari, he published the book Rastafari: Roots and Ideology and served as editor for the book Rastafari and Other African Caribbean Worldviews.[1] Other contributions include Betwixt and Between – Explorations in an African-Caribbean Mindscape and Learning to Be a Man: Culture, Socialization and Gender Identity in Five Caribbean Communities.[1]
Death
Chevannes died on 5 November 2010 in Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 70.[5] He was survived by his wife and two daughters.[1]
Selected bibliography
- Rastafari: Roots and Ideology (1994). Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.
- Rastafari and Other African Caribbean Worldviews (1998). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Remembering Professor Barry Chevannes". Jamaica Observer. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d Bolles, A.Lynn. "In Memoriam. Alston Barrington "Barry" Chevannes (1940–2010)". Caribbean Studies. 38 (2): 145–148.
- ^ "Alston Barrington (Barry) Chevannes, OJ, CD(January 7, 1940 - November 2, 2010)". Music Unites Jamaica Foundation. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ a b c "UWI Pays Tribute to Barry Chevannes". The University of the West Indies. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ "Barry Chevannes dies". Starbroek News. 6 November 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2016.