Caribbean Cultures and Heritage: Collaborative Master’s Module and Student Exchange

This summer Social Anthropology will be welcoming Ashleigh Onfroy (University of the West Indies, Mona) as our first academic visitor under a new exchange scheme between the University of the West Indies and the University of St Andrews.

This is part of a successful teaching and research collaboration between the University of St Andrews and the University of the West Indies. The scheme consists of an online taught module, Caribbean Cultures and Heritage: Debating Cultural Curatorship, SA5050 (USTAN) / SOCI 6121 (UWI) and a student exchange that sends talented students from the Caribbean to Scotland and Scottish-based students to the Caribbean.  

About Ashleigh Onfroy 

Hi! I’m Ashleigh C. Onfroy and I am a MSc. Sociology (Social Anthropology emphasis) student at University of the West Indies, Mona where I acquired a Bachelor of Arts in History and Archaeology, Social Anthropology. I was born in Cross Roads, Jamaica. I enjoy watching action movies, and documentaries, trying new foods, learning French, listening to ‘old’ hits (music from the 40’s – 80’s) and doing outdoor activities like camping and hiking. My favourite colour is turquoise, and my favourite foods are pasta (any kind), gizzada and jerk chicken. I am a 2022 Jamaica & the Commonwealth Rhodes Scholarship Finalist and Governor General's Achievement Awardee for St. Andrew, Jamaica.  

I opted to take Caribbean Cultures and Heritage (SA5050 / SOCI 6121) because I had never done a jointly administered university course before and thought it would be a great opportunity to interact with students from other universities with similar interests. This has been one of my favourite courses ever! I love how it challenged me to interrogate all the prevailing notions I had about Atlantic-Caribbean relations, culture, autonomy, history, freedom, and identity. I appreciated the diverse backgrounds and expertise of the lecturers and students. This course was meticulously constructed, and I only wish there was an archaeological component to the readings, lectures and discussions since material remains are key areas to be considered in Caribbean heritage and cultural curatorship.  

I would unequivocally encourage every student, regardless of their specialization to consider taking Caribbean Cultures and Heritage: Debating Cultural Curatorship to have a greater sense of themselves, to have a deeper understanding of the origins of the world they live in and to help them become passionate Caribbean and Global citizens.