Editor/Head
Caribbean Quarterly (CQ), was launched in 1949 by the then Extra Mural Department of the University College of the West Indies and is long regarded as the flagship journal of the University. The publication was revamped in 2010/2011, shortly after the death of its long-serving editor Professor Rex Nettleford. An editorial board appointed by then Vice-Chancellor E. Nigel Harris formulated a new vision and strategic plan for CQ, sharpening its identity as a peer-reviewed “journal of Caribbean culture”, while encouraging a livelier diversity of material, therefore giving CQ a special place in the family of journals at The University of the West Indies (UWI), and especially in the global arena. Today, CQ’s board and management are committed to supporting the continued development and international exposure of The UWI as it pursues increased Access, Alignment and Agility strategic pillars conceptualised by Vice-Chancellor Sir Hilary Beckles and detailed in The UWI’s Triple A 2017–2022 Strategic Plan.
The academic year 2018/2019 saw the third year of CQ’s publishing partnership with Routledge/the Taylor and Francis group. Under the seven-year partnership (effective January 2016), Taylor and Francis continues to publish CQ’s digital and online versions as well as markets the journal and the wider UWI brand internationally and within the region. CQ, in joining its family of 2,000-plus journals, has benefited tremendously from Taylor and Francis’s existing marketing structure, extensive sales reach and global network, as well as its technical expertise in electronic publishing. The partnership enables The UWI grant access to Caribbean cultural scholarship to a significantly wider global audience. This is done while retaining editorial autonomy (full editorial and design control), and integrity as a high-quality journal authentically representing, promoting, developing and interrogating all aspects of Caribbean culture.
CQ’s strategic partnership with Routledge/the Taylor and Francis group also provides a platform for increased agility in establishing The UWI presence on all continents by online participation. Within three years of the partnership, the number of institutions with access to CQ increased by 23%; downloads increased by 164%; and CQ’s total revenues increased by 79%. CQ’s financial health continues to improve. The journal remains self-funded with all production and promotional expenses covered by royalty and subscription revenues.
CQ’s editorial board, is keenly aware of its role in promoting alignment between academia and society, whether through activism and public advocacy or more generally by expanding the knowledge base of its target societies. CQ continues to ensure high-quality and timely publication of special and general issues in both electronic and print formats to establish and sustain The UWI’s reputation as an institution of excellence. Two special issues and one general issue were published in the year under review. These explored “Irish Caribbean Connections” with guest editing by Irish scholars Lee M. Jenkins and Melanie Otto and “African-Caribbean Spirituality and Creativity” with guest editing by UWI professor Clinton Hutton. They continued the CQ’s tradition of promoting discourse on matters of regional significance.
Cover, vol. 64, nos. 3–4 (Sept – Dec 2018)
Cover, vol. 65, no. 1 (March 2019)
Cover, vol. 65, no. 2 (June 2019)
