The Faculty of Social Sciences congratulates Clinton Hutton, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government, to the rank of Professor. The promotion comes in the wake of assessment of his academic accomplishments and contribution to his field.

Clinton Hutton holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication with Social Sciences and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Political Science from The University of the West Indies, Mona. He also holds the Certificate in Teacher Education from The Mico University College.

Dr Hutton joined the staff of The UWI, Mona in 1994. He is internationally recognised and held in high regard as a scholar, public intellectual, educator, photographer and painter. He has been described as an interdisciplinary artist who has also produced a substantial and impressive body of written and visual scholarship that makes very important and original contributions to the fields of Afro-Caribbean thought and Africana political philosophy.

As a researcher, he has focused on Jamaican oral history, Africana culture and religions, philosophy and popular culture.  His primary interest has been the persistent legacy of African political philosophical thought and its influence on the world views of Afro-Caribbean people. His body of work is a major contributor to the fields of Caribbean political philosophy and to the study of the Haitian Revolution and the Morant Bay Rebellion.  Hutton’s first book The Logic and Historical Significance of the Haitian Revolution and the Cosmological Roots of Haitian Freedom as well as the later publication Colour for Colour, Skin for Skin: Marching with the Ancestral Spirits into War Oh at Morant Bay, both examine the African philosophical race-based heritage that influenced the Haitian Revolution and the later Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica. His work has advanced understanding of the Caribbean Studies subfields of history and philosophical foundations of slavery and liberation, Rastafari and other Caribbean religions, Jamaican popular music, Caribbean artistic expression, black self-images and masculinity. Assessors have commented on his ‘insightful, broad and deep research and philosophical contributions to the understanding of the Jamaican and Caribbean history, quest for human freedom, equal rights and justice, religious and artistic re-creation of peoplehood, and the assertion of self-hood, agency and dignity of its peoples. 

Dr Hutton is the author of three books and has written some 17 book chapters, 20 journal articles. Some 300 of his paintings and photographs have been published on the covers and within the pages of books, journals, magazines and posters. In recognition of his work he was named recipient of the Principal’s Research Award 2012 for Best Research Publication in the Faculty of Social Sciences. He was also a recipient of the Principal’s Research Award 2016 for the most outstanding Researcher/Research Activity in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Hutton also received the Caribbean ‘Hall of Fame’ Award for Excellence in recognition of outstanding contribution and achievement in the field of Visual Arts.

Dr Hutton has given service to the University as Head of the Political Science (Comparative Politics) Unit of the Department of Government, as lecturer at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and through his planning and promoting of conferences, seminars and symposia. He also designed courses dealing with the philosophical foundations of slavery and anti-slavery resistance; Jamaican popular music, and the making of ideas in the Caribbean.

The newly appointed professor is also a committed community organiser and activist, evidenced by his contribution to and involvement in the Community Adult Remedial Education Programme in Craig Town, a project which gained national and international focus as a model for addressing social and political divisions which plagued some inner city communities.

He is also widely recognised for his public service in the areas of education, and social and community development. These include giving professional advice and training in education, especially in areas relating to the philosophy of education, pedagogy, gender and education, masculinity, culture and the arts (popular and traditional), Black History, Caribbean spirituality and religion, the culture of enslaved Africans, issues of race and ethnicity, inner city development, career development, and politics.

Dr Hutton has also served as member on a range of boards including the National Council on Reparation since 2016, the 150 Committee to conceptualise, plan and organise events to mark the 150th anniversary of the Morant Bay Uprising; Vice Chairman of the African Caribbean Institute of Jamaica/Jamaica Memory Bank /Liberty Hall Board; and Member of the Advisory Board for the Jamaica Music Museum, among others.

Office of the Campus Registrar

Marketing, Recruitment & Communications