The University of The Bahamas (UB) Northern Campus will host the Colour, Class and Colonialism Conference beginning May 17th. A press conference announcing the event was held where the President of UB North outlined what can be expected of the conference. Dr.

Dr. Ian Strachan said, “naturally one would expect celebration, one would expect commemoration and for us to look back at our achievements, which we ought. We also want to make sure that we provide a critical eye to look at all aspects of national life. And to focus not just on where we have done well and are doing well but where we can do even better and become an even better country. One that provide the best opportunities for all its citizens and one that is inclusive.”

Anglican Priest Father Ruel Strachan is one of the presenters at the conference. He outlined what his presentation would entail saying, “I’ll be speaking on the Bahamian theological pilgrimage towards an identity shaped theology and a decolonized pursuit of holiness in an independent Bahamas and I hope to explore some themes of race and identity, the afro-Caribbean experience and how that can contribute to the shaping of theology in The Bahamas and in the wider Caribbean region.”

Also presenting is UB Associate Professor of History Christopher Curry who said his presentation would be “looking at the concept of the idea of the nation or nation formation being a social construct and the is building on the theoretical work of Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities. Its kind of a dated work but I like the theory behind it which is to suggest that nations aren’t just legal documents, they’re certainly not just territorial, they’re also imagined.”

The conference ends on May 19th.