GORDON, Shirley Courtenay (1920-2006)

Scope and Content

Papers of Shirley Gordon, 1984-2006, including reports by Gordon including 'Report on Central American Mission Visit 26th February - 28th March 1986'; report for the Commonwealth Secretariat, 'Commonwealth Student Mobility in the Nineteen Eighties', 1984; abstract, 'Issues raised by Ladies in limbo: the fate of women's bureaux six case studies from the Caribbean' prepared by Gordon and 'An evaluation of the Canadian UNICEF committee - CIDA/NGO division three year programme 1983- 1986'. Papers relating to research by Gordon including notes and photocopies of archival material including of the registry of baptisms, Falmouth Methodist Society Island of Jamaica; Typescript papers by Gordon including 'VI Decolonisation'; 'Historical perspectives on the education of women in the Caribbean'; 'Food supply and pricing'; 'The impact of macro-economic policies on women', 28 Nov 1986; 'Contemporania: A New Phase of Third World Educational Development'; proofs with corrections and typescript index for 'Our cause for His glory: Christianisation and emancipation in Jamaica'; 'Bahamian history'; edited proofs of God Almighty Make Me Free ; 'God is dumb until the dumb speaks: religious life in Jamaica before emancipation'; 'The Christianisation of Jamaica during slavery'; 'God is all we got to gamble wit' Roots of Afro-Jamaican Religion and comments by Gordon on H Fergus', History of Education in the Leeward Islands (for UWI press, 2001); Press cuttings including obituary of Edna Manley, The Times , 27 Feb 1987 and on the Gulf War, 1991; Correspondence , 1989-1994, on topics including vol. 5 of UNESCO General History of the Caribbean , 1993-1994; the history of missionaries; the 'Christianisation' of Jamaica; missionary activity and with US and UK archives; Papers by others including 'The contributions of Joseph John Williams, S.J., 1875-1940 to the study of religion in the history of Africa and the Caribbean', by Robert J Stewart; 'The work of the Anglican church in Jamaica 1826- 1845' , MA research paper by Fay Aileen Williams, UWI 1987; 'Hilary's tales - from the 1998 crop', 'Hilary's tales - the harvest of 1999', 'Still more tales, 2001', by Hilary Semmens and paper [by John Macpherson] on St. Anthony's Church, Montserrat. Papers on the 'Gender and Education' programme, Women and Development Studies, Faculty of Education and The Women's Studies Group, University of the West Indies (UWI) Nov 1989; proposal to the Spencer Foundation, 'Education and society in the Creole Caribbean'; paper from the Second Meeting of Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs, 'The policy process: integrating women and development initiatives', 1987 and programme for opening ceremony and list of participants for the 3rd disciplinary seminar, 'Gender and Education', UWI, 1989. Personal papers including letter from solicitors regarding citizenship of Jamaica; letter confirming honour of 'Friend of West Indian Education', Jamaica Historical Society; certificate for travel to British West Indies, 1958; copy of Gordon's will; programme for Gordon's memorial service, with notes from John MacPherson, Hilary Semmens, and Tony Elvin and obituary in The Guardian , 2006.

Administrative / Biographical History

Born 1920; educated, University of London; Department of Education, Jamaica, 1954; University of Guyana; helped establish the College of the Bahamas; helped establish B.Ed and MA corses at the University of the West Indies; Professor of Education, Recife University, Brazil; consultant for the World Bank, Unesco and the Commonwealth Secretariat; died 2006. Publications: The Making of the West Indies with F R Augier, D G Hall and M Reckord (1960)
Sources of West Indian History with F R Augier (1962)
Century of West Indian Education (1963)
Reports and Repercussions in West Indian Education (1968)
God Almighty Make Me Free (1996)
Our Cause for His Glory (1998)

Arrangement

Original order

Access Information

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Acquisition Information

Received by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Apr 2006.

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Archivist's Note

Entry compiled by Sarah Drewery.

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Geographical Names