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Chair of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Publications and Public Programming Committee, Dr. Henderson Carter, as he spoke during yesterday’s launch of the 2021 series.

New blood for new delivery of BMHS/UWI Lecture Series

History continues to write itself as three historians are set to make their debut in the Barbados Museum and Historical Society (BMHS)/University of the West Indies (UWI) Lecture Series, which is scheduled to kick off on May 12. Rev. Jewell Callender, Achirri Adams and Dr. Janak Sodha will be joining series stalwarts such as Dr. Karl Watson and Dr. Deryck Murray for the 2021 series, which is also being delivered virtually for the first time ever.

Running for seven consecutive weeks, the series titled ‘Fighting for Souls: Spirituality and Religion in Barbados’, was noted to aptly capture the landscape of Barbados from the 17th century up to the present by Chair of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society Publications and Public Programming Committee, Dr. Henderson Carter, during the official launch of the series yesterday. Calling the line-up of speakers the perfect mix of youth and experience, Dr. Carter revealed that the annual series would give all an insight into the over 100 religious groups established and practising in Barbados.

Slated for Wednesday evenings up until June 23, the lectures will be available for public consumption via Zoom and Facebook Live at 5:00 p.m. each day through the museum’s page. With the series forced to the online platform for the first time ever, the series is expected to benefit as a much larger audience is expected to patronise.

Going on to urge Barbadians from all walks of life to tune in, Dr. Carter stated that there was much to be gained from learning the history of their religion and that of others. “Many of us pride ourselves as people of faith, people who are aligned to a particular denomination, but it is also useful to step back and learn about that history and discover new things. And having discovered new things, we can now set a path for development in our faith-based organisations, in our denominations. This is not a lecture series that only looks at the historical aspects, but we invite you to see how that history and information can shape us going forward into the future,” he said.

During his address, President of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, Sir Trevor Carmichael, explained that the annual series has always played an important role in the museum’s function of education and outreach. With this year’s series being no different, he highlighted the topic’s relevance to historical, socio-economic and cultural development. “For me, and I’m sure for many, the lecture series will stimulate personal interest in how the various aspects of religion and spirituality can and do function as tools in the construction of various proponents in life. For it is difficult to give careful study to the development of individual religions without considering the related religious experience,” he said.

Barbados Museum and Historical Society/University of the West Indies 2021 Lecture Series

• Fighting for Ground: Tensions between Anglicanism and Catholicism in Early Barbados – Rev. Jewell Callender – May 12, 2021

• Judaism in Barbados from the 17th Century – Dr. Karl Watson – May 19, 2021

• Emancipatory Religions: Quakers, Methodism and Moravians in Pre-Emancipation Barbados – Achirri Adams – May 26, 2021

• The Entry of North American Churches – Prof. Pedro Welch – June 2, 2021

• African Spirituality and Religion in the Caribbean from Slavery-Present – Dr. Deryck Murray – June 9, 2021

• Islam in Barbados – Sabir Nakhuda – June 16, 2021

• Hinduism in Barbados – Dr. Janak Sodha – June 13, 2021

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