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School of Society and Environment - Department of History
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Deanna Lyn Cook

Deanna Lyn Cook

Email: d.r.a.lyncook@qmul.ac.uk

PhD project 

'Education was critical for our advancement’ the experiences of Jamaican and Kittitian children migrating to Birmingham, 1959-1977.

Deanna's research explores the migration of Caribbean children to post-war Britain, through the lens of the British colonial education system in the Caribbean and the British system in Britain. It takes a transnational approach to these histories of childhood utilising archival research across the Caribbean and Britain as well as oral history.

Supervisors

Dr Leslie James, Department of History, QMUL

Dr Rob Waters, Department of History, QMUL

Funding

HSS Principal's Studentship; Leverhulme Study Abroad Studentship.

Academic Background

BA History and English Literature - Queen Mary University of London
MA Economic and Social History - University of Birmingham

Conference Presentations

‘Riddims & Rebellion: Black resistance to racism & schooling in Britain’, June 2026. Caribbean Studies Association, Kingston, Jamaica.

'“Mi nuh know none ah unu yuh know”, Caribbean children’s migration to Britain, through the familial lens, 1959-1971'. May 2026. The University of the West Indies: Cave Hill, History Department Forum.

‘Colonial Legacies Within Education: The Migration of Caribbean Children to Post-war Britain’. May 2025. Association for Caribbean Historians, University of the West Indies: St Augustine.

‘“Many See The Problem. Only Some Want Changes” The changing philosophy of education in 20th Century Jamaica.’ March 2025. School of Advance Study CLACS Caribbean Studies Seminar Series.

‘The experiences of Jamaican Children within the Birmingham Schools, 1960s.’ February 2025. Mansfield College History Society, University of Oxford.

‘The Experiences of Caribbean Children in the British Education System.’ June 2024. Criminality and Care, AHRC Funded Workshop, University of Manchester.

‘Reflexivity and Positionality: Exploring the migration of Caribbean children through ethnography, 1944-1985.’ March 2024. Northwestern University Doctoral Exchange, Northwestern University, Illinois.

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