Millenarian movements and the politics of liberation: the Rastafarians of Jamaica

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the relationship between millenarian movements and the politics of liberation, with particular reference to the Rastafarians of Jamaica. By the politics of liberation I mean, the infusion of a secular revolutionary ethic at both the individual and group level. It follows that my concerns revolve around identity change (the growth of pride and revolutionary consciousness) and movement change (the transformation of the movement from revolutionary religious to revolutionary secular) and its effects on the wider society. Part One of the dissertation examines millenarian movements in comparative perspective and develops a model which should predict the initial character and appeal of a millenarian movement. Part Two represents the case study of the Rastafarian movement and focuses in particular on the interaction between the Rastafarian movement and Jamaican society. Part Three is devoted to exploring the role of millenarian movements in the politics of liberation. It critically examines the impact of the Rastafari movement on the politics of liberation in Jamaica and it concludes with an attempt to (a) fit the Rastafarian movement and other millenarian movements into the model discussed in Chapter I, (b) derive some general statements regarding millenarian movements, and (c) suggest how some of the conclusions of the study can inform current debate in the literature on social movements.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Department dc:contributor.department

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Year dc:date.issued

1976

Author dc:creator

• De Albuquerque, Klaus

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10919/121597

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/121597