IN FOCUS
Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies (The UWI) Professor Sir Hilary Beckles remains a staunch defender of CLR James’ acclaimed book Beyond a Boundary despite critique by some in academia that it is Eurocentric. Beckles Goes to Bat for Beyond a Boundary
I n fact, the erudite historian describes the seminal work on cricket in the West Indies, first published in 1963, as “one of the finest examples of the dialectical method of understanding reality” . As he delivered the CLR James Distinguished Lecture at the Cave Hill campus of The UWI on 24 February 2023, in celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the book, Sir Hilary said the argument that James was a victim of European culture and celebrated the English literature and Victorian values could not be further from the truth. “James was saying ‘Hold on a second! This is what you should tell the English: Thank you for exposing us to this magnificent game, which is yours; and thank you for giving us the opportunity to improve upon it.’ Therein lies the dialectic of CLR James.”
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