Courtesy: Overtime Media
How well do you really know Trinidad and Tobago?
We know Carnival. We know Emancipation. We know the stories of our different cultures and the personalities who helped shape the country. However, UTT’s Executive Chairman, Professor Selwyn Cudjoe believes that truly understanding who we are today requires going much further back into the ideas, struggles and relationships that helped create modern Trinidad and Tobago.
“In order to know yourself, you must know where you come from,” Cudjoe says and that idea sits at the heart of a new professional development course entitled “Trinidad and Tobago Intellectual Thought in the Nineteenth Century” which is being offered by The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).
Led by Cudjoe and Dr Solange Kelly, the 24-hour programme runs from October 7 to November 25 at UTT’s Chaguanas Campus, with classes on Wednesdays from 5 pm to 8 pm
Despite the academic-sounding title, Cudjoe insists that you do not need to be a historian to participate:
“It’s not just for university students,” he explains, extending the invitation to professionals, leaders of industry and anyone simply curious about “who we are, what we are, where we came from.”
Participants will explore a fascinating period when Emancipation, colonialism, labour, race, religion and migration were transforming the society.
There may also be a few surprises.
Cudjoe points, for example, to the enormous French influence on 19th-century Trinidad, despite the island being under British rule.
“For most of the 19th century, if not all of it,” he declared, “the main language spoken in Trinidad was not English; it was French!”
The course will also examine figures such as Jean-Baptiste Philippe, whose writings challenged discrimination against free people of colour, while exploring the experiences of formerly enslaved Africans, Indian indentured immigrants and the relationships that developed between communities.
“This coming together and working together has always been part of our history,” Cudjoe added and for him, those lessons remain relevant in 2026.
“Why is it important to know about what happened in the 19th century?” He explained. “Because it’s all part of a long history, and to the degree you understand that history, you begin to understand yourself.”
Imterested participants should not expect eight weeks of simply sitting, listening and taking notes.
“It will be participatory, not with somebody talking down to you,” Cudjoe promises, describing an environment for sharing ideas, asking questions and having genuine discussion.
The course costs TT$3,000 and comprises 24 contact hours.
For registration and further information, contact UTT Outreach and Industry Relations at 642-8888 ext. 24110 or outreach@utt.edu.tt.
